Becoming A Loser
by Ashley.X.Rose
Summary: Follow Beth & her first adventures with the Losers. Follow up to Ain't Born Typical. OC. R&R. NOW COMPLETE.
1. Beth

**Thanks for all your amazing reviews on 'Ain't Born Typical'. This chapter is for all of you!**

**I'm also asking for a favour, I'm completely lost for a name for this story so if anyone has any ideas please PM me or leave your idea in a review comment. I will then pick my favourite to be the new title. **

**Thank you in advance for your help. Hope you enjoy...**

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_Here Lies Colonel Franklin Clay._

_Beloved Son, Father, And Friend._

_May Your Soul Rest In Peace._

No matter how many times she read these words, Beth could not hold back tears. She never allowed anyone to catch her when she fell, she just sat alone and wallowed in self pity. It was her fault, it was all her fault. Charlie would have had no reason to even point a gun at her father if it wasn't for her. The only person who cried as much as Beth was Jensen. Every time Beth would try to apologise, no words could leave her lips. Maybe she shouldn't be trying to say anything. Beth never saw things that way. Aisha was absent, Pooch never spoke and Cougar spent every second he could trying to comfort Beth. Everything happened exactly the same way.

And then Beth woke up.

She had gotten quite used to this dream, this worst case scenario that her subconscious had put together in her head. It didn't mean that the end results were any less distressing. She always woke up feeling like she had been crying, sweat pouring from her forehead and muscles hurting from being so tense. At least that's what she guessed it was from. She always silently climbed out of her bed and tip-toed over to take a quick peek in her fathers room, just to make sure he was okay, before returning to her room, opening the window and laying awake in her bed trying her hardest not to fall back to sleep. This had been Beth's routine every night since the confrontation, seventeen days earlier. She told no one, just silently hoped that it was a phase that would pass.

...

17 Days Earlier…

Beth wasn't quite sure how long Charlie had being holding a gun to Clay's head when she returned from her truck and noticed the situation.

"Put the gun down, man. You don't wanna shoot anybody." Pooch had said with his gun pointed at Charlie. Pooch's words had made Jensen look up from whatever he was doing on his laptop, his instinctive reaction was to grab Beth and pull her behind him. Beth could see Aisha in front of Jensen, her gun was stuffed in her waistband and she was trying to reach for it without drawing any attention to herself.

_Please no, this can't be happening. _Beth was saying to herself in her head, _He can't leave me now. Somebody has to do something! _That was when the gunshot rang out, and Beth felt like she was having a heart attack. She grabbed the back of Jensen's shirt and buried her face in his back, refusing to look at what had just happened. _Please god no!_

"Nice timing Cougar!" Jensen called out. She couldn't hear Cougar's reply over someone screaming in agony. It wasn't Clay; it was Charlie. Thank fuck! Beth looked up and let out a breath she didn't realise she's been holding as she saw her father standing over Charlie, unharmed. Charlie, on the other hand, wasn't doing so great. He was on his knees, clutching his hand which was pouring with blood.

"You bastard!" he screamed at Cougar who had ran over to Clay to make sure he was all right, "You fucking bastard you shot me in the fucking hand!" Charlie looked as though he wanted to get up and attack Cougar, but he never managed. He let out another agonising scream before collapsing onto his side. Beth ran past Jensen and into Clay's waiting arms.

"Are you okay?" Clay asked as he gently stroked his daughters hair. Beth shoved him back with a look of disbelief.

"Am _I _okay?" she mimicked his words in a incredulous tone, "You just had a gun to your head and you're asking _me _if _I'm_ okay?" Clay looked over at Cougar who shrugged his shoulders. Pooch, Aisha and Jensen were all over by the van trying to hide the smirks on their faces.

"Well … yeah I guess," Clay answered honestly.

"Unbelievable!" huffed Beth as she left Clay and joined Pooch, Aisha and Jensen in the van. She wasn't at all sure if she could get used to this.

After they had arrived in California, Clay had decided they need to lay low for a few weeks. So he had rented out an apartment and the team were able to take some time for themselves. Beth had thought that she was okay until the nightmares started, although she managed to convince herself that they would pass. Pooch didn't spend that much time with the team. He had a wife and a son and he used the 'lay low' opportunity to spend as much time with his family as possible. Aisha never seemed to get her head out of the game. So she dug into the background of the guy who had offered them a job.

"Never hurts to get a head start, kid," Aisha had said to her whenever Beth watched her work. Cougar and Jensen spent their time either outside enjoying the sunshine or inside watching cartoons. It made Beth smile that they offered to include her in almost everything that they did. Clay spend his time mostly with Beth, trying to catch up on the two years he'd missed. Beth didn't really like to talk about it. Clay understood why, so he never pushed her. He just tried to make her as happy and as comfortable as possible.

...

Present day …

Nobody liked the apartment Clay had chosen more than Jensen, mostly for the reason that he got his own room. Jensen never got his own room.

"So what's it like with you guys?" Beth and Jensen were sitting out on the decking of the apartment in the sunshine. Jensen was wearing shorts, flip-flops and an outrageous bright yellow t-shirt. Beth had gotten used to Jensen's dress sense. She liked it, always colourful.

"What do you mean?" Jensen wondered, peering so his eyes could see Beth over the top of his sunglasses.

"Well you seem so happy that you have your own room, so I'm guessing you're used to pretty tight quarters?"

"Yeah I guess," Jensen shrugged, "You get used to it though. It's pretty awesome in a way because you never get lonely. Just hope you never get roomed with Pooch because he snores like a bitch!" Beth smiled. Never lonely, she like the idea of that.

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**Not very exciting for a starter chapter but will get more interesting as the story goes on.**

**Also, good call Jensen's Petunia on Cougar being the one who fired the gun :)**

**R&R, hope you like x**


	2. The First Rule Of Losers Fight Club

**Hey guys, sorry this chapter wasn't up earlier but I've been having a few connection problems.**

**Hopefully it was worth the wait. Enjoy...**

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"Punch me,"

Beth almost spat out the mouthful of food she was chewing. To say that her fathers request had taken her by surprise was a massive understatement. As she looked around the room, she noticed that she wasn't the only one taken aback by Clay's request. Aisha, who was sitting at the table looking over some building floor plans, had almost knocked her mug of coffee when reaching for it. Jensen, who was watching television had leant on a button on the remote which had completely knocked off the volume. He was trying his best to make it look like he was fixing it but everyone knew that Jensen, along with the rest of them, wanted to hear every word of this conversation. Even Cougar had looked up from the book he was reading, only his eyes were showing but Beth could tell that he was grinning.

"Excuse me?" sputtered Beth, making sure she heard right. "You want me to what?" Clay smiled to himself.

"You heard me right, little lady. Punch me." Beth scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Why?" she asked, completely ignoring the sniggers coming from the others.

"First rule of being a Loser. You have to be able to throw a damn good punch. Come on," Clay opened the door and ushered Beth outside, closing the door behind him. Jensen, Aisha and Cougar waited until it looked like Clay was deep in conversation with Beth before crowding round the window that overlooked the small garden.

"Okay… okay." began Jensen, "Can wearing glasses effect your hearing? Coz I swear I just heard Clay _ask _to get punched. Ain't that crazy?" Jensen shook his head, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck.

"Shut up, Jensen," warned Aisha, shoving the tech out of the way so that she could get a better look. The three of them watched as Beth attempted several punches, not that they expected much but they really were shabby. Clay didn't stumble or even flinch once.

"No, you're not doing it right," said Clay, taking hold of Beth's hand and squeezing it in to a fist, "You're not gonna do any damage by just using your arm. You need to put your whole body into the punch. The force needs to come from your shoulder, not your wrist." Clay peered over is shoulder and noticed their spectators. "Any volunteers from the audience?"

"Shit," mumbled Jensen, diving away from the window and resuming his previous position on the couch. Aisha gave Clay the finger before grabbing her jacket and heading out for some fresh air. This left Cougar.

"Come on, Cougar!" called Clay, "I didn't mean volunteer to get punched." Cougar shrugged and thought 'Why the fuck not?' before making his way outside to join Beth and Clay.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter. Okay Dad?" Beth was saying. Cougar had walked out mid conversation.

"Beth, you're killing me here. How am I supposed to stay focussed on a mission when I know you could be somewhere else getting your ass kicked?" Beth rolled her eyes.

"Don't you think you're being a little over dramatic?" was her reply to her fathers rant. Clay shook his head.

"I'm going to get us some coffee," he said, "Cougar, teach her something will ya?" Beth gave her father a light push as he walked past her and went inside.

"I'm useless," Beth stated as soon as her father was out of earshot. She slumped against the wall and folded her arms. Cougar shook his head.

"This just isn't the right method of teaching," Cougar explained, "I didn't learn how to shot the perfect long distance shot by practise. I learned by doing."

"Learn by doing?" Beth muttered under her breath, wondering how she could do as such. Cougar regretted saying anything. The last thing he wanted was Beth searching the streets for someone to fight her so she could 'learn by doing'.

"Hey, Beth!" Jensen called from inside, "Come with me to the arcade? I feel weird going on my own or without someone younger than me. It just screams 'weirdo'."

"Sure!" she called back. Beth walked back indoors, closely followed by Cougar.

"Hey Dad!" Beth shouted to her father who was in another room doing who knew what, "Can we abandon Fight Class 101 for a while? I wanna go to the arcade with Jensen!"

"Okay!" Clay shouted back. Beth grabbed her jacket and near enough ran to the front door. Jensen went to follow but was stopped by Cougar grabbing his arm. Jensen's eyes met Cougar's which were a mix between worry and angst.

"Don't worry, Dude," Jensen replied as if he could read Cougar's mind. "I'll take good care of her." Jensen winked at Cougar before pulling his arm free and leaving with Beth.

...

Beth was a little confused when she and Jensen arrived at their destination.

"This isn't an arcade," she said matter-of-factly, coming to a standstill outside of the gym.

"I know," Jensen replied, walking past Beth towards the door, "This is going to be much more fun than going to the arcade. Trust me." Beth shrugged her shoulders and followed Jensen inside.

"Good afternoon, Harry," he greeted the man behind the counter.

"Alright, Jensen. Haven't seen you in a couple of days. What can I do for you?" the man named Harry enquired.

"I need the boxing room for an hour," Jensen asked. Harry simple nodded his and pointed Jensen in the direction.

"Thank you, my good sir," smiled Jensen as he lead Beth down to the boxing room.

"Really?" scoffed Beth, "_You_ go to the gym?" Jensen ignored the mocking in Beth's voice as he opened the Boxing Room door and flicked on the lights.

"Yeah," he answered, pretending to be offended by Beth's ridiculing. He raised both of his arms to show off his muscles. "You don't get guns like these by sitting around watching cartoons all day, you know?" Beth rolled her eyes and smiled at Jensen.

"So what are we doing here?" Beth asked as she eyed her surroundings. The room wasn't too big, but it was big enough to fit it's purpose. There were three punch bags of three different sizes. The smallest was hanging from the ceiling in the back left-hand corner of the room, it was clear that it didn't get used as much as the other two. The medium was not far away from the small, but it was more towards the middle of the room. The largest was probably bigger than Jensen and Beth put together, and hung from a chain on the ceiling that went from one side of the room to the other. There was a small boxing ring in the back right of the room, and just behind the door was a hook which held six pairs of boxing gloves. Jensen grabbed two of them and tossed one at Beth, she caught it with ease.

"Show me what you got, Junior," Jensen said in a teasing tone as he hopped from one foot to the other. Beth giggled.

"I'm not going to punch you, Jensen." argued Beth.

"What do I look like, an idiot," gasped Jensen, roughly massaging Beth's shoulders. "Do I look like the kind of moron who would give you a pair of boxing gloves and then ask you to punch me? Besides, I wear glasses. Isn't it the law that you can never hit a man who wears glasses?"

"Get to the point, Jensen," urged Beth as she squeezed her hands into the boxing gloves.

"Okay, okay," continued Jensen, "I don't want you to hit me. I want you to hit _that_." Jensen pointed towards the biggest punch bag. "Bethany Clay, I'm going to teach you the basics of self defence!"

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**So how's the sequal treating you? Liking it?**

**R&R. Let me know :) x**


	3. Awkward Encounters

**Hey guys. Quite a short chapter for you here but I've had a few emails asking me if Beth knew about Clay & Aisha and how do I think she would react if/when she did find out. So here's a chapter for all of you guys which I think you'll enjoy :)**

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When Jensen and Beth returned from their 'arcade trip', they opened the door to see Pooch and Cougar playing cards at the table.

"Pooch, my man," greeted Jensen as he walked over and bumped fists with the man that had been absent for the past few days. "How's the family?"

"Yeah, they're good thanks dude! The little man is almost walking. It's crazy." Pooch replied, his eyes lighting up as he talked about his son. Cougar was paying more attention to Beth. When she had left with Jensen she had been wearing black joggers, an long sleeved white top with her jacket on and her hair loose down her back. Now, her hair was pulled back off her face, her jacket was tied around her waist and her sleeves were rolled up past her elbow. From this Cougar had his doubts that the pair had been to the arcade.

"Is my Dad around?" asked Beth as she removed her jacket from around her waist and placed it on the hanger behind the door. Pooch and Cougar exchanged shifty glances. Beth looked over at Jensen who shrugged his shoulders. All eyes then looked towards Clay's bedroom when the door squeaked open.

"Oh," This was the only word able to leave Beth's lips as Aisha stumbled out of Clay's room in nothing but her underwear. Pooch, Cougar and Jensen all exchanged glances and shrugs. None of them said anything.

"Well…this is… awkward?" Beth said, trying to figure out the right word for the situation and not realising she was talking out loud. Aisha quickly grabbed her night gown from Clay's bedroom floor before wrapping it round herself to cover herself up. Cougar's head lowered, the brim of his hat covering his eyes and Pooch and Jensen seemed as though they didn't know where to look.

"Hey, Beth?" Pooch spoke up after what seemed like a forever of silence, "I got some pictures of my little man in the car if you wanna come out and take a look?" Beth nodded her head, unsure of which direction to direct her eyes.

"That. Would. Be. Awesome." It was clear by the pauses that Beth wasn't quite sure what to say until the second the words left her mouth. She strolled quickly to the front door and walked out, closely followed by Pooch who paused the throw Aisha a 'Really?' glance before heading out after the traumatised teenager.

"Shit," was all Aisha could mumble as Cougar started clearing away the deck of cards that he and Pooch had been playing with.

"Smooth," smiled Jensen as Clay walked out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.

"What's going on?" he asked sternly, noticing the looks of amusement and awkwardness on the remaining members of his team's faces.

"Beth just met her step-mummy," Jensen blurted out. He and Cougar could not hold in the laughter any longer.

"It's not funny!" shouted Aisha, storming over to Jensen and slapping him round the back of the head.

"Wait," Clay said, clearly trying to get his head around the situation. "Beth saw you come out of my room like that?" Aisha nodded her head.

"Well actually," Jensen butted in, "When Aisha first came out of your room she was a little bit more naked. Beth saw Aisha come out of your room in her underwear." Cougar smirked and Jensen resumed his previous fit of giggles.

"You're a jerk, Jensen!" snapped Aisha as she stormed in to her own bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

"Yeah well you shot me!" Jensen shouted loud enough for her to hear, "What do you expect?" This remark even earned Jensen a smile off Clay.

"So where's Beth now?" Clay asked, switching to 'concerned father mode'. Cougar pointed to the front door.

"Pooch took her out to his car to show her some pictures of his kid," explained Jensen, turning the TV on and browsing for something to watch. Cougar retired to his bedroom and Jensen got comfortable on the sofa.

'Great' Clay thought to himself as he returned to his bedroom and closed the door. 'Exactly the conversation I want to have with my teenage daughter' He sat down on the edge of his bed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

It was going to be a very interesting evening.

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**How about some nice reviews for me to read before I go to bed? (Pretty please) :)**

**Next chapter up tomorrow x**


	4. Bonding

**Hello all my brilliant readers :) How are you all?**

**Here is the next chapter as promised which I hope you all enjoy. **

**I'd just like to take a moment to say thank you to all my wonderful reviewers who make writing this story so much more fun :) Thank you for all your tips & ideas.**

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Clay had decided it would be a hell of a lot less awkward if he and Beth went out alone. He decided on taking her to the nearest Diner for some dinner, brushing off Aisha's pleas of 'The last thing a teenage girl wants to discuss is her fathers sex life!', insisting that he knew what was best.

"Listen, Beth I just wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier," began Clay as he and his daughter took a seat at their given table. Beth's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" she replied, her voice raised. "Can't we just talk about this self defence stuff? Because I'm really okay with not knowing what goes on with you and Aisha. Really!" She emphasized on the 'Really' and Clay shook his head.

"It's not that I want to discuss it, Beth. I just want to know that if it makes you feel uncomfortable then we won't do it."

"Does that statement go with anything that makes me feel uncomfortable?" Beth asked, taking a large gulp of the water in front of her.

"Well, yeah I guess,"

"Good. This conversation is making me uncomfortable so can we eat now please?" Clay smirked and nodded, calling over the waitress so they could order.

...

Only Jensen and Cougar were still up when Clay and Beth returned back to the apartment.

"I see you ordered in," Clay said, noticing the piles of take-out boxes by the sink and rolling his eyes at how messy it looked.

"What can we say, Boss," sighed Jensen who looked like he'd just eaten a horse, "That Chinese place up the road does better noodles than the one in L.A. Only problem is I ate more because the food was so good. I'm okay now but I'm dreading it coming out the other end," Clay shook his head in repulse.

"Eww, Jensen." were the only words able to leave Beth's lips.

"Alright, I'm turning in for the night." announced Clay as he headed towards his room, "Beth, if you need anything…"

"I'll shout," said Beth, not wanting to walk in on anything as she did not know which bedroom Aisha had decided on. Clay chuckled and slipped in to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. Jensen lay sprawled out across the sofa, Beth wasn't sure if he was even able to move judging by the pile of empty take-out cartons. Cougar was sat on the arm chair, a little less relaxed. He never seemed to be 100% though, even when he was sleeping.

"You can have your bed tonight, Jensen," offered Beth, "I'm not that tired." Jensen didn't move.

"Nahh, no way. I'm a gentleman." smirked Jensen, "Gentlemen belong on couches so that the beautiful girl can have the bed." He winked at Beth, causing her to blush. Cougar tipped the brim of his hat forward and shook his head.

"Jensen, by the look of all that food you ate your fat ass is _not _going to survive on the couch. Now get your ass into that bedroom so I can sit down." Beth ordered. Cougar smirked at her tone. Jensen got told! Although he didn't actually get up until Beth shoved his legs off the end of the couch so that she could sit down.

"Alright, alright I'm going," Jensen mumbled as he staggered into the bedroom.

"You look tired." Cougar pointed out as he tossed Beth a cushion to rest her head on.

"Yeah, well I'm not." Cougar wasn't fooled. It was obvious by the heaviness in her eyes that she was trying to keep herself awake. Cougar knew why, he'd done it himself many times.

"I used to have nightmares." he revealed, causing Beth to look at him with a hint of confusion in her eyes. She turned and met the sniper's gaze.

"How did you…?"

"They way your acting. It's clear that you are tired, but you won't sleep. I used to be the same," Cougar replied. He stood up and motioned to the seat next to Beth. "May I?" Beth nodded her head and shifted over so Cougar could sit next to her. He placed the cushion on his lap and gently pulled Beth so her head was lying on his lap. He pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered Beth.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Yes," Beth replied, feeling a little awkward. She had never been as close to someone as this since her Mum died, especially someone she had only just met. It only made the moment a little more uneasy when Cougar started to run his fingers up and down the young girls back. The anxiety soon faded when Beth realised exactly how nice it felt, how relaxed it made her. The comfort that Cougar was so close was all it took for Beth, to allow herself to close her eyes and be claimed by a peaceful, nightmare-free sleep.

...

When Beth opened her eyes the next morning, she found herself alone on the sofa. She heard shuffling noises in the kitchen area so she sat up to see who it was. Aisha was by the sink, a lot more dressed than the last time Beth had seen her, cleaning up the mess from the previous night's feast. Beth stood up and made her way over to Aisha.

"You need a hand?" Beth asked her politely. Aisha turned and gasped, having not heard Beth get up.

"You scared the crap outta me," Aisha explained, blushing a little from her reaction. "It's okay though, I'm almost finished. I thought you and me could take a little trip today. What do you think?" Beth shrugged.

"As long as it's not a 'Hi, I'm your new mom and I need to bond with you' type of trip then yeah, why not?" Beth replied, tossing Aisha a take-out box that had fallen on the floor. Aisha nodded in thanks and smiled to herself.

"Don't worry, it's more of a 'I have something really cool to teach you' trip. All of the guys are out. Apparently there's some game on that can _only _be watched at a bar,"

"Yeah okay then. Could be fun I guess," shrugged Beth. Aisha nodded and made her way back to her bedroom.

"Be ready in ten minutes!" she called. "Wear something comfortable!" Beth dove into her bag and pulled out the most comfortable outfit she owned, a baggy pair of jeans, a loose fitting Bobcat jersey and her purple Nike dunks. When she was satisfied she sat on the couch and waited for Aisha.

"It's gonna be an interesting day," she thought to herself as she waited.

And she was right.

...

"A gun range!" Beth exclaimed in disbelief as she climbed out of the car and looked up at the sign, "You bought me to a freakin' shooting range?" Aisha laughed to herself and patted Beth on the back.

"Come on, kid." encouraged Aisha. "Second rule of being a Loser: You need to be able to shoot. Even if it's just for defence." Aisha signed them in and picked out a small pistol for Beth to try.

"Shoot the target," Aisha said, handing the weapon to Beth. Beth didn't move, she just looked at Aisha.

"What?" Aisha asked, feeling a little self-conscious.

"How old are you?" Beth asked, going completely off subject. Aisha sighed.

"Why do you want to know how old I am?"

"You can't be more than seven years older than me, right? So you sleeping with my Dad is just creepy, he's like…old enough to be your granddad." Aisha laughed and shook her head, pointing at the target, forcing Beth to look at it.

"Honey, he's not even old enough to be _your _granddad. Now focus," Aisha smiled. Beth aimed the weapon before letting her arms fall at her side once more.

"You're old enough to be my sister," Aisha sighed.

"Beth!"

"Okay, okay," Beth aimed the handgun and fired one shot, hitting the target just outside the centre. Aisha was impressed.

"Not bad," Aisha said in compliment, "Your hands were too shaky though. I'll help you work on that," Beth just looked at Aisha and rolled her eyes.

"What's the problem?" the older woman asked.

"I don't want my Dad getting hurt. It may not seem like it but I worry about him more than he worries about me." Aisha's expression softened.

"I'm not gonna hurt him, kid. I care about him. A lot. You don't have anything to worry about, okay?" Aisha wasn't exactly thrilled that she was having to reassure Beth about this, but in a way she understood where Beth was coming from.

"We'll see about that." said Beth in a teasing tone, smiling at Aisha who returned the gesture. Aisha moved so she was standing behind Beth and helped her steady her weapon, guiding Beth's hands where to aim with the help of her own. Beth fired and hit the target dead centre.

"Now that's more like it," said Aisha as she backed away to high five Beth. Beth smiled. Maybe she could get used to Aisha after all.

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**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

**Leave me some nice reviews? :) Next chapter will be up either later tonight or tomorrow depending on how tired I am when I get home from work.**

**Love to you all & have a lovely day :) x**


	5. Lost or Found

**Hello wonderful people :)**

**Apologies for the shortness of this chapter but I wanted to give you something before I go to bed. Next chapter tomorrow.**

**As for now, enjoy the ride ) ...**

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When Beth and Aisha returned to the apartment later that afternoon, they discovered the door ajar and the lock broken. Aisha drew two small handgun's from her waistband and handed one to Beth.

"Keep hold of this, kid," Aisha whispered as she nudged the door open silently with her foot. Aisha silently stepped in, Beth not far behind. The site was all too familiar for Beth. The first thing she noticed was the couch, which now lay on it's back. The stuffing from the cushions scattered the entire floor. All of the drawers were open, the contents of which joined the filling from the cushions all over the floor. Papers, cutlery, small objects; Everything. Everything that had once been in a drawer now scattered the floor. Aisha checked around every door to make sure that she and Beth were alone before speaking at a normal volume.

"Someone's been here," she pointed out the obvious, "Nothing seems to have been taken although I can't be sure until everyone has checked their things, so go check yours. I'm going to look around some more." Beth nodded her head and ran into the room that she and Jensen shared, shoving the gun in her bag. The pillows, like the cushions had been sliced and the contents were scattered over the bed and on the floor. The drawers didn't appear to have been touched, but Beth was almost positive that nothing had been in them in the first place. She checked her bag thoroughly, nothing appeared to be missing. She made her way back out to the front room where Aisha was lifting the couch upright.

"Anything missing from your room?" Beth asked, collapsing on the sofa as soon as it was in an upright position. Aisha shook her head, scratching the back of her neck with the tip of her gun before tossing it on the table.

"Whoever was here was definitely looking for something though," explained Aisha. "I'm going to ring Clay so we can go meet the guys. Go grab anything you need then come meet me outside," Aisha hopped up, pulled her phone out of her pocket and made her way outside whilst dialling. Beth stormed into her room and started pacing, trying to get her head around things.

_'This is crazy' _she thought to herself. _'God damn crazy' _The pacing got faster. _'Who the hell lives like this? The house was broken in to, and there's no way it was a fucking mistake of who lived here. This is CRAZY'_ Beth massaged her temples with her fingers as she paced. _'What the hell am I doing here? Guns, fighting, stalkers! What the hell! Can I get used to this? Is all this crazy worth it just so I can be with my Dad?'_ A smile grew on Beth's face. _'Fuck yeah!'_ Beth grabbed the handgun from her bag and shoved it in her waistband before making her way outside to join Aisha.

...

Clay had just got a round in when his phone started ringing in his pocket. He placed the drinks down in front of the boys before sliding his phone out of his pocket and answering it immediately.

"Hello,"

"Clay it's me, we have a problem." Aisha got straight to the point.

"What's wrong, Beth shoot you?" Clay asked in a teasing tone, earning a snigger from Pooch, Jensen and Cougar.

"This isn't funny Clay, someone broke in to our apartment!" Aisha's voice raised.

"Are you and Beth okay?" Clay's voice was serious, knocking the smiles right off the faces of Cougar, Jensen and Pooch.

"We're fine, the place was empty when we got back. You don't think there's a chance that _he_ could have found _us_, do you?" Clay could have sworn he detected a hint of worry in her voice.

"Too early to tell, was anything taken?" Cougar, Pooch and Jensen were already getting ready to leave.

"No, but they were definitely looking for something. The place is trashed." Aisha emphasized on the word 'trashed'.

"Okay, we're coming back. Don't go back inside. I'll take a look when I get back."

"Sure, just get here fast."

"Always." was Clay's parting comment as he hung up.

"What's going on?" Pooch stood ready to go behind Clay, handing his boss his jacket.

"Break in. That's all that we know for now. We have to get back to the apartment." The hint of urgency in Clay's voice made his team walk a little bit faster towards their ride.

"Beth and Aisha okay?" asked Jensen, opening the car before tossing the keys to Pooch.

"Yeah they're fine. No one was there when they got back,"

"Good." muttered Cougar as they all climbed into the car and headed back towards their apartment.

...

Across the street from the bar, dark eyes watched the Losers through tinted glass. A phone was drawn from a pocket and a number was dialled. Three rings before another answered.

"They're on their way back now," the first voice said. It was deep, brusque. They scratched above their right eye as they spoke.

"My men found nothing," the voice on the other end of the phone spoke in a much less husky accent. "How are you sure he still has it?"

"Trust me, I know this guy. He still has it, I'd bet my life on it."

"Deal." And the phone line was dead.

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**Hope you're all well. Ash x**


	6. Old Enemies Older Friends

**Good evening all :)**

**Quite a long chapter for you here as I'm off out tonight and probably won't be uploading again until tomorrow.**

**As always, enjoy ...**

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"Any thoughts?" Pooch asked Clay as their boss scaled every inch of their apartment. Clay way emptying everything that hadn't already being emptied. Aisha was stood by the door, almost as if she was guarding it. Jensen, Cougar, Pooch and Beth we crowded on the sofa, keeping as out of the way as possible.

"None as of yet," replied Clay, making his way into the room shared by Jensen and Beth, the only room yet to be checked.

"So is it always like this. Like, is this a regular occurrence for you guys?" Beth leant over and whispered to Jensen. Jensen nodded his head.

"You'll get used to it. It gets more awesome the more you learn to kick ass and be clever?" Beth rolled her eyes. If she was honest, she was getting used to it already.

"Beth! Jensen!" Clay called from the bedroom. "Get in here!" Jensen and Beth stood up and strolled quickly into the bedroom. Clay appeared from under the bed.

"What's going on, Dad?" asked Beth as Clay stood up with a small object clutched in his hand.

"Does this belong to any of you?" he asked, stress clear in the tone of his voice. He opened his hand to reveal a small knife. Beth took it off her father and assessed it carefully before handing it to Jensen who did the same.

"I've never seen anything like it before in my life," Beth answered honestly before looking towards Jensen for his reply.

"Nahh, me neither." Jensen replied, handing the knife back to Clay. "The only one I ever seen like that was the one Roque had," Clay through Jensen a 'shut up' look before Beth met Clay's eyes.

"Who's Roque?" asked Beth. Beth looked towards Jensen, who looked towards Clay.

"He's no one," Clay answered abruptly, walking towards the door. "He's gone now and he doesn't matter. I don't wanna hear his name around here again, do you hear me?" Clay's voice rose with every word. Beth didn't like it but Clay was so worked up he didn't seem to notice. Clay stormed past the gob smacked pair and didn't stop until he was outside of the apartment.

"What'd I say?" Beth asked Jensen, more than a little surprised by her father's reacted. Jensen said nothing, he was pretty sure that Clay didn't want Beth to know about their friend turned traitor, so he simply patted her on the shoulder before re-joining the rest of the team in the front room.

...

Clay had disappeared after his outburst and was yet to return. Beth still felt a little down, she had sat on the sofa and not moved since he left. She just sat playing with the handgun that Aisha had given her, unloading and reloading, saying nothing. Aisha had gone after Clay but they had heard nothing from either of them. Cougar and Jensen weren't quite sure what to say, so Pooch stepped in.

"Hey Beth, will you be able to give me a hand with the van? The engine needs some," Pooch's request made Beth look up, she shrugged.

"I'm no good with engines," Beth said softly, the tone in her voice was almost childlike.

"That's okay," smiled Pooch, "I only need you to pass me things. Cougar's no good for conversation and Jensen just doesn't know the different between a spanner and a wrench," Beth smiled as she noticed the head shaking coming from Cougar and Jensen.

"Okay," she accepted happily, shoving the gun in her waistband as she followed Pooch outside. They nearly bumped into Aisha by the front door.

"Hey," she greeted, walking straight past them and saying nothing else. Beth rolled her eyes.

"Did I do something?" asked Beth as she and Pooch approached the van. Pooch shook his head.

"She has her moments. Just ignore her, Clay probably just told her to leave him alone and she doesn't like being told no," Beth giggled.

"That's a girl thing," she informed Pooch. Pooch unlocked the van and handed Beth a box of tools.

"This shouldn't take too long," he told her, unlocking the front end to reveal the engine.

"You been interested in cars your whole life?" asked Beth, handing Pooch a wrench. He pulled his sunglasses so they rested on head before getting to work.

"Ever since I remember," Pooch replied. "I met my wife at the first garage I worked in. She was the receptionist."

"Love at first site?" Beth saw Pooch smile.

"Yeah I think so, didn't ask her out until I finished working there though."

"Why not?"

"Her Dad was my boss. So as soon as I realised she was single and she liked me, I quit." This made Beth smile.

"That's the sweetest thing I ever heard," Pooch looked up.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. Can you pass me that small red box thing with the silver pipe?"

"Sure," Beth handed Pooch the mysterious looking device. "What is it?"

"Something Jensen made in his spare time. If it works properly then it will make this van go faster than any van in the US," Beth looked at Pooch with confusion in her eyes.

"What happens if it doesn't work?" she asked, Pooch looked up and chuckled at the anxiety in her expression.

"We don't really tend to cover the 'what if's'. It's a Loser thing." Pooch secured the item in place and slammed the hood shut. Beth rolled her eyes. These guys were crazy, and she loved that.

"Never boring," she muttered under her breath. Pooch took the tool box off Beth and shoved it back in the van before answering his phone as it started ringing in his pocket.

"Sup...Really, where? ...Okay, me and Beth are outside with the van now so let me give the rest of the guys a call and...oh, okay. We'll be there in five...Later." And then he hung up.

"What's going on?" Beth asked. Pooch slid his phone back in his jean pocket before opening the passenger door for Beth to climb in.

"Your Dad found out the knife was bought locally. He's there now and needs picking up," Beth climbed into the passenger seat as Pooch climbed in to the driver seat.

...

Clay was waiting for them in an alley behind the shop. He was on edge, worried and confused as hell. He didn't understand how it was possible. Clay climbed straight into the back seat before Pooch had fully applied the brakes.

"Drive!" was his simple command which Pooch obeyed. Beth noticed the wariness in her fathers eyes.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Dad." Beth spoke, not looking directly at Clay.

"What for?" he asked, sounding a lot calmer than he had done earlier.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "You just seemed angry earlier and I though it was something I said or did." Clay's expression softened.

"I'm sorry, Beth. It was wrong of me to act the way I did. I didn't mean it. You didn't do anything wrong. Friends?" Clay held out his hand as a peace offering and Beth took it without hesitation. All of a sudden, the smiles were traded for panic as the van jolted and Pooch lost control.

"Shit!" shouted Pooch as he fought to regain control of the van which was veering to the left.

"Pooch, what happened?" asked Clay who was trying to keep his cool.

"The wheel's burst," explained Pooch, "I think someone from the car behind shot it!" Clay turned to look out of the back window as another shot was fired, knocking out another tire.

"Pooch, brakes!" shouted Clay. Pooch applied the brakes fast and heavy. Beth leant on the dashboard for support as the van came to a grinding standstill at the side of the empty road. Beth wasn't quite sure how to feel when the car that had shot at them came to a stop behind them. Clay and Pooch jumped out of the van, guns drawn. Beth followed, keeping two steps between herself and Clay.

"Show your face!" Clay shouted. The car door opened and a tall man climbed out. Beth gasped. The man wore burn scars worse than Beth had ever seen, over half of his face was completely covered. As she looked down his arm she noticed that the burns did not stop at his neck, judging by what she saw of him, the burn scars covered just over half of his body. Pooch lowered his gun, his mind clouded with shock. Clay kept his fingers heavy of the trigger.

"You." Clay growled, "How the fuck are you alive?" The man took a step forward.

"It's amazing what plastic surgery can do these days, Colonel," A deep snarl came from Clay's chest. The man pulled a gun from behind him and pointed it forward.

"What's stopping me from shooting you right here, right now?" growled Clay. The man smirked.

"Coz' my gun ain't pointed at you Clay. It's pointed at that pretty little thing behind you." He motioned at Beth, "Now do me a favour and lower your gun." Clay hesitated, but did as he was asked.

"What the fuck do you want, Roque?" barked Clay, taking tiny shuffles back towards Beth as he spoke.

"Don't play dumb with me, Clay. I want the detonator you stole that day at the docks? You remember that day, right? The day that you though I died." Clay shook his head.

"I don't…"

"Don't even try that shit with me, Clay!" the man named Roque shouted, "I know you kept it. Now you got ten seconds to hand it over before I blow her head off, followed by Pooch's and then finally YOURS!" Clay's eyes shifted between Beth and Pooch.

Roque cocked his gun. "10..."

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**R&R? :) Your reviews always make me want to post sooner, you're all awesome!**

**Until next time ... Ash x**


	7. We Meet Again

**Good evening all :)**

**I know I said the next chapter wouldn't be up until tomorrow but your reviews made me so happy that I stayed up extra late to get this chapter up for you.**

**I hope you like ...**

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"9,"

Clay knew he had to think fast, Pooch & Beth's lives depended on it. Beth's fingers were already twitching towards the gun in her waistband.

"8,"

Pooch was still, but his eyes noticed everything. Clay's trigger finger was twitching, his eyes flickering between Roque and Beth. Pooch glanced over at Beth and immediately knew she would be ready to move with a seconds notice.

"7,"

Roque was getting impatient, his fingers tightening around the trigger more every second. Clay was looking strong, but secretly praying for help. He usually thought well under pressure, but right now he wasn't doing so great.

"6,"

Pooch had an idea. Roque took a step closer to them.

"5,"

Pooch moved exactly an three inches closer to Beth. Roque didn't notice, he was far too busy trying to out stare Clay. Clay noticed Pooch move, he knew why. Beth's hand nearly touched her gun. Pooch met Beth's eyes and shook his head, her hand dropped to her side.

"4,"

Beth noticed that even if they did avoid getting shot, the van was still un-drivable and there was too much valuable stuff in the van for them to just ditch it. Clay had noticed this too, and he had a plan; sort of.

"3!"

Roque's voice was raised. Clay shook his head to try and get the point that he didn't have what Roque was after. At least that's was Roque thought he was doing, really it was just to keep his eyes distracted so that Pooch was able to shuffle that much closer to Beth so he was in arms reach of the gun in her waistband.

"2!"

Clay took Beth's hand. Roque took aim at Beth. Pooch flexed his fingers.

"1!"

Clay smiled.

"Time's up, asshole!"

"Now!" The next few seconds happened quite fast. Pooch grabbed the gun out of Beth's waistband, Clay then hauled Beth out of Roque's line of fire. Pooch fired twice; shoulder, then kneecap. Clay sprinted over before Roque had time to recover, kicking him across the face and knocking him out cold. Beth's adrenaline was working overtime. She opened the back of the van and rustled around until she found the item she was looking for. She tossed the duct tape to Clay who immediately got to work in binding Roque before he came round.

"What now?" asked Beth, unable to keep still. She was pacing back and forth, Pooch handed her back the gun which she immediately returned to her waistband.

"We get back to the apartment, ask Roque a few questions and find out what the hell is going on." replied Clay, "Pooch, can you fix the van?" Pooch nodded.

"Give me ten, maybe fifteen minutes. I can use the tires from his car to replace the ones on the van," Clay nodded his head.

"Quick as you can, Pooch," ordered Clay, "I doubt he was working alone."

...

"Where did Pooch and Beth go?" asked Jensen, walking back in to the apartment after going outside to look for the two missing members of the team. Cougar and Aisha looked up, before exchanging looks with each other. Aisha shrugged.

"They were outside working on the van, but now that you mention they went out over half hour ago. There wasn't that much for Pooch to do was there?" Cougar reached for his rifle as Jensen pulled his phone out of his pocket. He'd just dialled Pooch's number when they heard struggling noises coming from outside the door followed by Clay's voice.

"Can we get a hand out here!" Cougar was first out of the door, followed rapidly by Jensen, and finally Aisha. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw who the struggling was coming from.

"Now way," was all Jensen could say.

"Holy fucking shit!" Aisha gasped. Cougar said nothing, just angrily shook his head. Clay bought the situation under control.

"Enough!" he barked, "We can't risk being seen so save the shock speech until he's inside," Roque was fully conscious at this point and was fighting against Clay and Pooch, only when Cougar and Jensen gave their hands was when Roque was bought under control. The four men dragged Roque into the apartment and fastened him securely to a chair. After they were positive he wasn't going anywhere, they all took a step back and let their shock spill out.

"Holy fuck!" Jensen blurted out, "Roque's not dead! How? The plane fucking _exploded_!" He was walking around the room, not standing still for even a split second. His hands were rubbing his head, massaging his temples and doing everything possible so that he wouldn't have to stand still. Aisha pulled out her gun and held it to Roque's head.

"Not so nice when it's the other way round, is it big guy," Aisha smirked as she spoke, "Karma's a bitch!" Roque just shook his head, no fear in his eyes at all. Clay strolled over to Roque, hitting him hard in his shoulder wound. Roque scream of pain was mumbled through his gag. Clay tore out the gag as Cougar put a gun to his head.

"Who the fuck are you working with!" Clay demanded. Roque said nothing so Clay put pressure on his shoulder. An agonising cry, but no information. When he caught his breath, Roque looked over to Beth who was standing beside Jensen not far from the door.

"You can tell she's yours, Clay. Resemblance is uncanny." Roque chuckled. Clay hit him hard around the face.

"Be careful what you say, traitor!" warned Clay. Cougar's gun did not budge, and the sniper himself was trying to kill Roque with a stare.

"Don't get me wrong, Colonel. I like her." Beth took a step behind Jensen, which Roque noticed. He smiled and Cougar snarled. Clay hit him again.

"You gonna tell us who you're working for? Or do I have to get Cougar to shoot you?" growled Clay.

"You have no idea how easy it's going to be for us," smiled Roque, completely ignoring Clay's question. "The great Colonel Clay, _distracted_!" Roque laughed. Cougar hit him hard over the head with his weapon, knocking him out cold.

'_Bastard!"_

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**How about some more lovely reviews before I go to sleep?**

**Thank you lovely people :) Ash x**


	8. How Did This Happen?

**Good afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen :)**

**Here is another short but sweet chapter for you before I head off to work. I'll probably be too sleepy to upload again after work so expect the next chapter tomorrow, and then if by some miracle I do upload later it will be a pleasant suprise :)**

**So on with the show...**

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By evening, Roque had come around. Clay had made sure the gag was back in his mouth before he woke up. They needed to plan their next move. Nobody really felt that comfortable sleeping, Clay didn't even feel comfortable being inside the apartment. So he sat outside in the van just staring at the sky. He hadn't liked the way that Roque talked about Beth, or the fact the Roque thought Clay was distracted. He couldn't be distracted, could he?

Clay was soon joined by Beth who quietly opened the passenger side door and slid in next to Clay, passing him a hot mug of coffee. He took it without hesitation.

"Thought you might need something to drink," she smiled, softly. "I can get you food if you're hungry?" Clay shook his head.

"Thanks but I'm okay." He took a sip of his coffee. "How you guys doing up there?" Beth noticed how her father couldn't look up when he talked about Roque.

"Who is he, Dad?" Beth asked, eyes locked on her father. "What happened with you guys? Why did you call him a traitor?" Clay met Beth's eyes.

"It's a terrible story, Beth," Beth took her father's hand and waited for him to go on. Clay took another gulp of his coffee before continuing.

"Roque was the first guy I got given when I was told I'd be leading a new special op's team. We clicked in an instant. Both had the same outlook on life, same dry sense of humour. We could be in each others company for hours without really talking about anything and it seemed normal. Just like brothers." Beth's eyes stayed locked on her father as he told his story. Her hand squeezed his for support.

"When the whole team was finally put together, I never really clicked with any of them the way I did with Roque. Don't get me wrong, I love those boys are like family and I'd do anything for them, but none of them had the same interests outside of the field like me and Roque did. Roque was the same, except he never seemed fully at ease around anyone but me." Beth noticed how Clay's expression dropped the more he talked about Roque. It made Beth want to cry.

"Anyway, after the whole Bolivia incident, Roque changed. Not that I blame him, it was a tough time for all of us but we all looked to each other for help. All of us except Roque." Beth saw tears in Clay's eyes. She had tears in hers as well.

"Was Bolivia when…?" Clay nodded his head. Somebody had tried to kill them, and for a while they appeared to be dead.

"Roque just paraded around like nothing could break through his bullshit body armour. When we met Aisha, she told us she could get us our lives back in exchange for killing Max. But Roque said no, he just wanted to get back to the US and carry on with his normal life and completely forget that someone framed us for the murder of twenty-five children." Beth let go of her fathers hand to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Anyway," Clay cleared his throat. "We did some infiltration and managed to find the evidence that Max was behind what happened in Bolivia, only when we went in to clear our names, Roque turned on us. Turned out he'd made a deal, he traded us in for money,"

"Bastard," Beth muttered under her breath.

"We all could have died. Me, Cougar, Pooch _and _Jensen all could have died." Clay handed Beth a tissue to dry her tears before taking her hand and squeezing it.

"What happened? How'd you get out?" asked Beth as she dabbed her eyes with the tissue.

"Aisha saved our asses. With a rocket launcher." Clay and Beth couldn't help but chuckle. Beth handed the tissue to Clay who wiped his eyes dry.

"Yeah that sounds like Aisha." giggled Beth.

"But there was this big confrontation between me and Roque, and I thought he died. Seeing him today was a bit unbelievable. I never thought I'd have to see his ugly mug again." Beth smiled, so did Clay. They knew that they'd be okay. Beth leaned over and pulled her father into a tight hug.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Beth." Beth smiled and sat back.

"Are you gonna come in?" she asked, motioning to the apartment.

"Nahh I'm gonna stay out here and keep watch," Clay smiled, pulling out his gun and cocking it. Beth nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to go back inside. Call if you need anything?" Clay nodded his head.

"Will do, little lady. Same to you." Beth nodded her head before kissing her father on the cheek and making her way back inside.

...

The apartment seemed almost abandoned when Beth entered. In a way it was, nobody wanted to be anywhere near the traitor that was tied up in their front room. Beth just ignored him. She may have felt intimidated by him earlier, but that ship had sailed. The way her father had looked when telling the story just made Beth angry that anyone could make him feel that way. She grabbed herself a glass of water before making her way back to the front room. Roque was staring at her, she stared right back. Cougar watched silently from his bedroom. He didn't like the way that Roque looked at Beth, he could have killed him if it weren't for the fact they needed information off him. Beth was a girl who Cougar felt an overwhelming urge to protect, and he had no idea why. Cougar felt a little on edge when no noise came from the room, so he decided to pick up his rifle and he went and joined Beth. She was sitting on the sofa staring at the TV, Cougar hadn't even heard her switch it on. Jensen must have because he bolted out of his room saying "Oh my god are you watching Sylvester and Tweety. I _love _this show," So the three of them sat on the couch watching crap cartoons, completely ignoring the fourth person in the room. Roque was smirking.

'_Idiots_," the traitor thought to himself, '_They got no idea what's coming!"_

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**R&R? Keep the reviews coming in my lovely people, makes my freakin' day & I love going to work with a smile on my face :)**

**Love to you all and have a nice day. Ash x**


	9. Alpha Mike Foxtrot

**Hi guys. **

**Need your honest opinions with this one, not sure that it's one of my best, but I hope you enjoy it.**

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Jensen fell asleep around midnight. Cougar attempted to move him but he wasn't going anywhere, so Cougar let Beth take the other armchair and Cougar sat on the floor. There was an old movie on TV, but they weren't watching it. It was just on in the background to keep there minds off things. Cougar threw Roque the odd glare, but Roque didn't take his eyes off Beth. Beth didn't seem to notice. When Roque started mumbling under his gag, it was Beth who stood up and ripped it out of his mouth.

"Any chance a man can get some water?" Roque scoffed. Beth grabbed the remainder of her glass from the table and threw it in Roque's face. Roque went to speak to but was distracted when Clay entered the apartment.

"Jensen!" Clay hit Jensen over the shoulder, "Get up!" Jensen sat and rubbed his eyes, nearly stumbling over when he tried to stand.

"'Sup boss man?" Jensen muttered, Cougar rose to his feet also.

"Get Pooch and Aisha up and all of you get your stuff together. We're leaving in twenty minutes, I'm sick of all this waiting." Jensen, Beth and Cougar nodded before making their way to their bedrooms. Clay drew his gun, digging it deep into Roque's ever more infected looking shoulder wound. He groaned, weakly.

"Who the fuck are you working for?" Clay's voice was raised. Roque just shook his head.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out, Colonel!" Roque sneered, smiling to himself. The fact that Clay hadn't noticed him picking at the binds behind his back pleased him greatly.

"Listen, I'm not in the mood for your shit. I'm going to kill you in five minutes, whether you tell me or not."

"Well that doesn't give me much reason to tell you," Roque smirked, working on the final bit of tape holding his hands together. Beth and Jensen re-entered the living room with three bags which they dumped on the sofa.

"The others will be five minutes," announced Beth. Clay glared at Roque.

"Your time's running out, traitor." Jensen stood by the door, almost as if he was keeping watch. Roque said nothing, his hands were almost free. Clay paced the room before giving up on the idea of Roque talking. He dropped his gun on the coffee table and went to gather his belongings. That's when Roque made his move. He waited until Beth was in arms distance before reaching over and grabbing her, pinning her arms to her side with one arm and pulling her gun out of her waistband with the other. She let out a squeal, Jensen heard and his gun was immediately on Roque, but Roque had Beth's gun which was pointed at her head.

"Don't do this, Roque," warned Jensen, his fingers firmly holding the trigger, "Let her go, and we'll talk about this." Roque shook his head. He tightened his hold on Beth which made her yelp in pain. Cougar must have heard because he was out of his room in a shot. He reached for his gun but Roque shook his head.

"Don't even think about it, Cougs. Anyone else puts a gun on me and I'll blow her pretty head off." Cougar growled. Jensen was pissed, Beth looked like she was in pain. Roque's feet were still tied to the chair so he held Beth so that her back was bent over his knee, her head close to his shoulder. Roque held her wrists together with one hand, and a gun to her head with his second hand.

"What's going on in …?" Clay froze when he saw the scene in front of him. All he needed to see was Roque with his hands on his daughter and all he saw was red.

"I'm gonna give you ten seconds to take your hands off her!" Clay snarled.

"I'm gonna give you five seconds to untie me!" shouted Roque, bending Beth back more making her scream. Aisha and Pooch heard, but Clay stopped them by the door with a simple raise of his hand.

"Okay," Clay agreed. What choice did he have? He pulled a knife out of his boot and cut through the bindings on Roque's ankles. Jensen stood in complete silence by the door, gun aimed at Roque's head just waiting for the moment where Roque would slip up and Jensen could get a clear shot. As soon as his feet were free, Roque waited until Clay backed away before he stood up, not being at all careful with his hostage.

"Let her go. Now!" warned Clay, the growl in his voice unmistakable. Beth struggled against Roque's grip. Roque growled, let go of her wrists and pulled her head back by her hair. Beth cried out in pain, Roque left himself open and Jensen took his shot. Roque's body went limp. Clay took a step forward and grabbed Beth's arm, pulling her out of the dead man's grip.

"Nice shot," Cougar smirked, patting a dazed Jensen on the shoulder before making his way over to Beth.

"I'm okay, Cougar." she answered without him even asking.

"Okay guys!" Clay called out, kicking Roque's body on to it's side. "Someone would have heard that shot, so let's get out of here. Pooch, Aisha, get rid of any prints while we load up the van," Beth grabbed her gun out of Roque's lifeless fingers before grabbing her bag and heading for the door.

...

It was less than twenty minutes before they were all on the road. Pooch drove, Cougar had shotgun, Aisha and Clay sat in the middle and Jensen and Beth were in the back.

"So what do we do know?" asked Aisha as she played around with her gun.

"What do you mean?" Clay looked up from a book he was reading.

"Roque was the only person who could have told us what he was looking for. Without him we got nothing." Aisha didn't look up, but she had everybody's attention.

"Well I wouldn't say that, exactly," smirked Clay. Aisha looked up.

"What do you mean?" Beth asked, she and Jensen becoming more intrigued every second.

"Pooch, what was Roque after when he pulled us over? What did he say he wanted?" Pooch thought hard.

"A detonator from LA," Pooch answered.

"What, you mean the Snook detonator?" asked Jensen. Clay nodded his head.

"And who is the only person in the world that would ask Roque to find it for him?"

A quiet growl was heard as Cougar, Pooch, Clay and Jensen spoke at once: "Max!"

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**I'm preparing for my holidays as of tomorrow so I'm unsure of when my next upload will be. I will make it as soon as possible.**

**Leave me some lovely reviews in the meantime? Thank you my lovelies :) Ash x**


	10. Explanations

**Well hello there starngers :) I'm finally back after a MONSTER few weeks.**

**I'm just going to start by saying how VERY sorry I am for keeping you lovely people waiting for so long, I'm not going to bore you with all the details but lets just say that technolgy HATES me! Hahaaa.**

**Thank you all for your wonderful patience and I hope that it was worth the wait. **

**Enough of my rambling anyway, you have waited long enough, so on with the story...**

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Max.

A name that Beth had only heard once, but the effect that it made was incredible.

The car was silent. Next to Beth, Jensen was messing around with a gadget of his that he seemed to have pulled from nowhere. He hadn't said a word in over an hour, the longest she had ever known him to be silent; it worried her a little.

In front of them, Aisha looked pissed. A couple of pistols were laid across her lap. She was carefully cleaning them, with a lot more effort and concentration than Beth had ever seen her use before. Clay was reading through some files he had pulled from his bag, occasionally passing one to Aisha who would read it, shrug her shoulders and then hand it back to Clay.

Pooch kept his eyes on the road. He had flicked through the stereo a couple of times but after deciding that no song was appropriate, he had switched off the stereo and not touched it again. Cougar was also silent, but this was nothing new. Although she couldn't read his expression, Beth guessed that he looked calm, collected. Beth knew that he would be the one she asked about Max if she could get him on his own.

...

Two hours in to the drive, after far too much silence, Beth finally broke the silence.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

Jensen looked up from his computer. "Yeah, me too."

...

Pooch pulled in to the next service station and Beth and Jensen made a dash for the bathroom. Cougar followed closely behind them, and when Beth and Jensen were finished, the three of them went to get some food whilst Pooch, Aisha and Clay planned the rest of the journey.

"What ever happened to the job in California?" Beth asked as the trio queued for some lunch. "Why did we leave?"

"We are still in California, amigo." Cougar answered, paying for the lunch.

"But we've been driving forever," said Beth in disbelief. Cougar sniggered as the three of them took a seat in a nearby booth.

"We're heading to Los Angeles," explained Jensen, turning his laptop around to show Beth a map. Beth looked at the map of California and sighed. No wonder she failed geography.

"What's in LA?" she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich. Jensen and Cougar exchanged anxious glances. Beth shook her head.

"Is this about Max?"

Jensen nodded his head, unsure of what else to do. He couldn't lie to Beth, no matter how much he wanted to. Cougar elbowed Jensen in the ribs, the tech winced.

"What the hell is with you guys?" asked Beth, getting a little impatient. "How the hell am I meant to help you if you don't tell me anything?"

"She's right Cougs," Jensen said as Cougar shook his head, "She has a right to know. If you don't like it then go back to the car with the others," Cougar's eyes went dark as he turned away from Jensen, but didn't leave. Beth almost giggled, she couldn't believe it. Cougar was _sulking_. Jensen lowered his voice before starting his story.

"You know what happened in Bolivia, right?"

Beth nodded her head.

"Well, Max was the one who set us up. He thought we were on that helicopter so he sent the order to destroy it. Until something we did in Miami caught his attention, he thought he succeeded."

"What happened in Miami?" asked Beth, taking in Jensen's every word whilst Cougar sat in silence.

"That's not very important, just blew up some of his trucks and stole something valuable."

Beth smiled at the smirks forming on Jensen and Cougar's faces.

"Anyway," continued Jensen, "After doing some research, we found out where Max's 'secret base' was, so we gathered our shit and headed down there to clear our names,"

"Los Angeles?" asked Beth. Jensen nodded his head and Cougar turned back to face them.

"That's where Roque turned on us. Set us up, bastard! But after a hell of a lot of commotion we found out that Max had funded the making of next generation weapons. There were called Sonic De-materializes, or Snooks for short. Basically big nuclear bombs but way scarier and way more destructive. When we found them, one of them had been armed. Your Dad managed to get the remote detonator off Max, but Max got away."

"So you think he got the Snooks back, _and _wants to use them?"

Jensen and Cougar nodded their heads.

"But you said 'one of them had been armed'. Why not just arm one of the other ones? Why waste so much effort trying to find a detonator that they can't be 100% positive my Dad even has anymore?" Beth pushed her empty plate to one side and took a huge sip of her drink. Cougar had barely touched his food and Jensen had been to busy talking to eat.

"The only people who know how to arm a Snook are the geniuses who make them, and Max killed his geniuses."

Beth finally understood and Jensen tucked in to his dinner. Max was, to put it nicely, evil! She now realised why the sound of that mans name made everyone so angry, so silent.

"You guys ready to go? Only an hours drive to go."

Beth had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realised Pooch approach them. Cougar was the first to stand, followed by Beth and finally Jensen. The walk back to the van was silent. Cougar noticed how awkward the silence made Beth feel, not to mention how restless it seemed to make Jensen. Clay noticed the look of awareness on Beth's face and the look of guilt and worry on Jensen's and immediately put the puzzle pieces together.

"You told her?" asked Clay, taking a step closer to Jensen. The sound of annoyance in Clay's voice was unmistakable. Jensen nodded but did not meet Clay's eyes. The young man was starting at his boots as he scuffed the dust on the ground with his feet. Clay took a step closer to Jensen but found himself face to face with Beth in a second.

"Don't you dare be angry with him," the young girl warned her father, "_You _should have been the one to tell me. I don't like secrets, okay Dad. If you want me with you then you _need _to tell me these sorts of things, understand?"

Clay just stood and stared in disbelief. No one had _ever _spoken to him in the tone that Beth had used. He expected his daughter to cave and start apologising but nothing. The young girl stood her ground, staring at her father with her massive blue eyes. Eventually a smile formed on his face.

"You got it, Little Lady." Clay patted his daughter on the shoulder and kissed her forehead before climbing back in to the truck. Beth smirked, as did the rest of the team.

There was no mistake, Beth was definitely a Clay in the making.

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**So what do you think? Worth the wait? Leave me some of your lovely reviews? Tyvm :D**

**Working extremely hard to get the next chapter up later, hope you're all having a wonderful day.**

**Love you all :D Ash x**


	11. Lights Out

**Good evening my Lovelies :D**

**Here is chapter number 2 as promised as my apologies again for being away for so long. Hope you enjoy as this is where the action begins...**

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Jensen was the most relieved at the end of the long journey. The first thing he did when Clay uttered the words 'We're here' was jump out of the van and start jogging on the spot before jumping around and flexing his arms. Anyone who wasn't a Loser must have thought he was crazy. Beth and Pooch found it highly amusing. Cougar shook his head at the sight, although the smile he was trying to hide under his hat was unmistakable. Clay and Aisha rolled their eyes, Jensen ignored all the reactions, he was just happy to be 'free'.

Clay found a suitable hotel for the Losers and rented out two rooms. Clay and Aisha took the first, leaving the second for Jensen, Pooch, Cougar and Beth as none of them wanted to share with the couple. Pooch opted to sleep in the van. At first Beth felt guilty, but Jensen reassured her.

"Even if you weren't here Pooch'd still sleep in the van. Pooch is greedy, unless he gets his own room, he's in the van. It's the way of life." This left Beth rooming with Cougar and Jensen.

...

That night, Beth wasn't quite sure what the plan was regarding Max. No one seemed to be doing anything that said 'we're planning an attack'. Clay and Aisha went to bed quite early, Pooch went for a drive and the remaining three decided to spend a quiet night in their room.

The room was quite small, but big enough for three people. One double bed, and one single bed. The only source of natural light was a screen door which led out on to a small balcony which overlooked a quiet street. It wasn't much of a view, but the Losers had seen worse. Beth called first dibs on the shower and when she re-entered the room, she couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Jensen was lying on his stomach on the double bed, computer open in front of him. His fingers were furiously tapping at the keyboard and the look of concentration on his face amused Beth a great deal. He was muttering the odd comment such as 'Ahh Damn it' and 'How'd you like me now you green piece of shit'. She guessed he was playing some sort of computer game and by the look of his focus, Jensen wouldn't notice if someone were to knock down their door and start shooting.

It was okay though, because Cougar would notice. The sniper had pulled up an old wooden chair beside the balcony door and was perched on the end of it, rifle in hand. He was scanning the quiet street below them as it got darker, searching for any sign of trouble. Beth guessed that Cougar was there for the night, he wasn't going to sleep. He was keeping watch.

Beth collapsed on to the single bed, gathering Jensen's attention causing him to look up from his computer.

"You okay?" he asked, causing Cougar to look over. Beth shrugged.

"Just restless," she replied, standing up and grabbing her jacket, "You guys want anything? I'm gonna go for a wonder."

Jensen shook his head. "Want us to come with you?"

"Nah I'm okay, I wont be gone long. You guys carry on doing … whatever it is that you're doing." And with that, Beth grabbed her bag and left. Cougar exchanged a worried glance with Jensen. It still amazed the sniper how anxious he got whenever Beth was out of sight.

...

The hotel lobby was quiet, the only person to pass Beth on her way out was a man in a white suit. He looked quite professional. Outside it was warm, the air was moist and the skies were dark grey. The closer she ventured to the main town, the more people she crossed. She took a slow walk to the pier, coming to a slow stop at the edge, peering over the balcony at the glistening ocean. There were three other people on the pier. A drunk couple, and a smart looking man on the phone. Beth could just about here the phone conversation, she took a subtle step closer after hearing a name.

"Max, it's done," the man was saying, "Lights go out in five." Beth's Loser instinct kicked in immediately. A guy in a suit on the phone to a man named Max the same day that the Losers arrived in town, it couldn't be a coincidence.

"Shit," she mumbled as she started to run. The man heard her, he pulled out a gun and fired a shot, missing Beth by inches. The drunken couple screamed and also started running, Beth was much faster. The man holstered his weapon as he chased Beth through the busy streets of LA. She tried desperately to lose him, cutting down any corner she saw and running through busy crowds.

Five minutes until lights out, what did that mean? Beth's head was working overtime. Were the team in danger? Had Max sent someone to kill them? Did she really only have five minutes to get back to the hotel to save them? She ran faster, first she had to lose the arsehole who was chasing her. She had an idea. As she neared the hotel, she decided to take a shortcut down a street. It was possibly the quietest street in LA.

"I got you now you little bitch!" the man shouted as he pulled out his gun and took aim.

"Time's up, Jackass." Beth muttered under her breath as two gun shots rang out. Beth kept running as her pursuer fell to the ground.

"Nice shot, Cougar," Beth said to herself as she rounded a corner, heading for the hotel entrance. She felt a hand on her shoulder; she clenched a fist and swung her arm for a punch as she turned. Her hit was blocked. Pooch grabbed the shocked girls wrists before she could attack him again.

"Hey, it's me. It's Pooch," the driver explained. Beth was out of breath, pointing frantically at the building.

"What's wrong?" asked Pooch, and then it went dark.

The streetlights went out, followed by the hotel lights, and then every other building went black. All Pooch and Beth could hear was panic.

"What. The. Fuck." Pooch exclaimed as he headed for the van to find a flashlight.

"Lights out," Beth quoted, quietly, "So this is what he meant," Beth turned and called to Pooch, "We have to get to my Dad!"

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**So what do you think? A little to evil with the cliffhanger? :P**

**I've had no new reviews since I've returned, how about a couple before I go to bed just to let me know that you guys are still reading and enjoying? I'd hate to disappoint.**

**Hope you're all okay. Love as usual, Ash xx**


	12. Kick Ass

**Good evening my lovelies :)**

**Apologies for only one upload today but I've had major writers block so I apologise if this chapter sucks.**

**Also thank you to Jensen's Petunia & gottalovealoser, your lovely reviews are the reasons I keep writing :)**

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Pooch entered the hotel first, flashlight facing forward, closely followed by Beth. They waited until they had passed all of the hotel staff and guests who were making a dash for the exit before pulling out their weapons and holding them out in front of them.

When the reached the right floor, it was silent. Pooch tried every light switch he saw but no luck. Power was out and it didn't look like it was coming back on anytime soon.

"Dad and Aisha's room is just round the corner," explained Beth, taking the lead. Pooch handed her the flashlight and followed her to the right door. Beth entered without thinking after seeing the state of the door handle. Pooch tried to grab her back but she was too quick. The young girl ran straight in to the waiting arms of a masked man.

"Well what have we hear?" taunted the intruder, grasping Beth tightly by her arms, causing her to drop her gun and the flashlight. She wasted no time, raising her arms through his and forcing them off her before kicking him back. Pooch noticed two more masked men move behind the first. He took a shot at one, missing him by millimetres. Pooch heard him laugh.

"If it wasn't pitch black you wouldn't have been so lucky, homes," spat Pooch, desperately searching for more signs of movement.

Beth aimed a punch at her attacker, only for it to be dodged and then retaliated. The sharp blow to her jaw knocked her to the ground. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind, her adrenaline working overtime as she pulled herself to her feet and threw three of her 'Jensen taught punches' at her attacker, hitting him only once.

Pooch heard movement out in the hallway, so he silently stepped back to look around only to feel his big arms wrap around his neck. Pooch's attacker grabbed his wrist and slammed it against the wall causing the shocked mechanic to drop his gun. Pooch grabbed at the arms which held his neck in vice grip and used all his strength trying to relieve the grip. Nothing. Pooch started to panic as he found it increasingly hard to breath.

Beth wasn't doing so great either. A kick to the face landed her on the floor; blood dripping from her nose and in immense pain. "Where the hell is everyone?" she thought to herself as she heard her attacker move in to attack again.

"Stop!" called a loud voice. The hold on Pooch vanished and Beth's attacker froze.

"I found it!" the voice spoke again, "Let's get out of here!" And with that, three lots of footsteps were scrambling towards the exit.

"Pooch?" Beth called out when she was sure they were alone. Her voice was rough and she sounded a little out of breath.

"Yeah, Kid?" came Pooch's reply. He didn't sound much better. The choking had taken a lot out of Pooch and he could barely talk.

"This stuff happen to you guys a lot?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Cool, good to know." was Beth's sarcastic comeback as she felt around for the bed and yanked herself to her feet.

...

"What do you mean _chasing_ her? Who?"

Cougar was having a hard time explaining the situation to his boss. He and Jensen had informed Clay and Aisha of Cougar's kill immediately after it happened and the four of them had started to make their way to the hotel lobby when the power had cut out. They had carefully made their way out of the building to find Pooch and Beth, only to find the van empty and the two missing members of their team nowhere in sight. It only made Clay that little more anxious when a member of hotel staff would not let him back into the building. Now Clay was trying to piece together what happened.

"I saw her running," Cougar was explaining, "When I saw that someone was chasing her I took the shot without even thinking."

"That's when we came and got you," continued Jensen. Cougar nodded. Aisha was pacing trying to figure things out.

"The only way they could have crossed us without us realising is after the power went out," guessed Aisha. Clay leant against the van with his head in his hands.

"Hey guys, check it out," Jensen alerted the rest of the group as the city lights starting turning themselves back on. Clay chuckled as many of the hotel guests shoved past the member of staff that had refused him entry.

"Look!" Aisha pointed at the only two people trying to force their way _out _of the hotel. Beth ran straight in to her fathers waiting arms as Pooch unlocked the van and threw his gun in the glove compartment.

"Are you okay?" Clay asked, frantically checking his daughter to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine, Dad," Beth replied, pushing her father away, "Me and Pooch kicked some serious ass, right Pooch?" All eyes turned to the driver who was sitting in the van with the passenger side door open.

"Right." he agreed, leaving out the part where they got their asses kicked. He exchanged a quick smirk with Beth before getting down to business.

"They were looking for something Clay," explained Pooch, " And from what we heard, they found it."

Clay's expression dropped. "Shit!" He was away in a shot, running faster than anyone had seen him run before. Beth followed close behind, then Aisha, Cougar and finally Jensen and Pooch. The Losers followed their leader through the hotel lobby, up the stairs and along the corridor until they reached the right room. Pooch was left at the back of the group, left to apologise to all of the angry people who were shoved out of the way by Clay.

"Dad what are you looking for?" asked Beth. She stood in the doorway with Aisha, Jensen, Cougar and Pooch whilst Clay searched hysterically through his belongings.

"Clay what the hell is going on?" Aisha's voice was raised as she tried to get an answer out of the colonel. Clay was emptying every one of his bags out on to the bed, ignoring everyone who was questioning him.

"Clay!" Aisha yelled, her voice so loud that Clay looked up, or at least that's what everyone thought. Clay threw his final empty bag across the room and slumped down on his bed, burying his head in his hands. Nobody knew what to say. Beth went and sat next to her father, putting a comforting arm on his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Dad?" she asked softly, "What did they take?"

All eyes were on them. Clay mumbled but no one understood what he said.

"Out with it Clay," demanded Aisha, "What did they take?"

"The Snook detonator!" snapped Clay, causing Beth to back off, "Max has the god damn Snook detonator,"

All jaws dropped to the floor. No one knew what to say but everyone was thinking the same thing.

_Shit_

_

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_

**Thoughts? Again I'm sorry if it sucked, but looking to get a lot of action in the next chapter :)**

**R&R, hope you're all having an awesome day! Ash x**


	13. And So It Starts

**Wow, this is actually my longest chapter EVER! :) Hope it's to everybody's liking!**

**This chapter is dedicated to my much appreciated regular reviewers - Jensen's Petunia & gottalovealoser. Hope you guys like it :D**

**A/N - If you want Cougar's spanish translating then Google Translate should do it ;)**

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Beth shoved her gun in her bag, quickly packing up the last of her belongings. Clay had given the order, they were driving to the Port of Los Angeles first thing in the morning and the young girl wanted everything packed so she could get a few hours sleep. As she neatly folded her clothes, she felt herself being watched. She turned her head slightly and noticed Cougar's eye's on her. The Sniper was back on his perch by the balcony door, Jensen had gone to the hotel reception to complain about his lack of connection, he had been given the job of hacking in to the city's CCTV to look for any sign of Max or his 'masked men'. This just left Cougar and Beth.

"What are you staring at?" Beth asked quietly, fastening her bags shut and moving them off the bed. Cougar turned to fully face her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Beth stood up and went to stand by Cougar, not looking at him as she stared out of the window.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

The amount of questions were starting to drive Cougar crazy.

"I'm observant," the sniper replied simply, "Your jaw line looks quite red, as does your nose. You get that when you and Pooch 'kicked some serious ass'?"

Beth threw Cougar a dark glare, she didn't appreciate the sarcastic remark.

"There's nothing wrong, okay? I'm fine."

Cougar turned and gently pulled Beth so she was facing him. Her bright eyes met his dark eyes.

"You don't have to say that," Cougar took Beth's hand in his, "I know you're probably used to having to say it, but get out of that habit. If you're hurt, we will help you. I will help you. Okay?"

Beth snatched her hand away from Cougar's and she went and slumped down on her bed, rolling over as not to alert Cougar to the tears that were falling down her cheek. Cougar stood up also, quietly making his way over to where Beth was lying and gently sitting on the edge of her bed.

"No escondas tu dolor," Cougar said softly as Beth closed her eyes to sleep. "Estoy aquí para ti, siempre."

...

Clay woke everybody up early the next morning and Pooch drove them all to a small Diner for breakfast. Clay and Aisha looked as though their heads were in the game, everybody else just looked sleepy. Pooch's neck still felt a little sore and it hurt Beth a little when she moved her head. Clay waited until everyone had ordered before he got down to business.

"Okay, here's the plan. Today me, Aisha, Cougar and Pooch are driving down to the Port of Los Angeles to take a look around. I know it's a long-shot that there will even be any traces left but it's worth a shot."

Jensen crossed eyes with Beth from across the table.

"What about us, Dad?" asked Beth, referring to herself and Jensen. Clay looked up and smiled.

"I was hoping you'd ask that," he replied, "Jensen and Beth, you two are heading for _that _satellite tower," Clay pointed out of a window at the back of the Diner where, poking up over the top of most of the buildings, was a large, telephone satellite tower.

"Jensen," Clay continued, "At the top of that tower you should be able to hook up your computer and download the signal for the phone conversation that Beth heard last night before the lights went out. You find out the number, you trace it and then you call me."

"Hold on a second, let me get this right," Jensen spoke sounding a little confused, "You want me and Beth, the two youngest members of the team, to go and climb that _huge ass_, _electrical_, tower. You want me to trace Mr Super-Evil's phone call using a signal that _probably_ got wiped during the power cut and then phone you from, like, _one hundred million feet it the air_ to tell you all the gory details? And you want us to do all of this, _unsupervised_?"

Clay crossed eyes with every member of his team before looking at Jensen. Pooch was amused, greatly by Jensen's speech. Cougar just shrugged his shoulders. Aisha was rolling her eyes at the tech's outburst. Beth looked as though she didn't know whether to feel scared or excited. Jensen was waiting for an answer.

"Would any of that be a … _problem_?" Clay asked, unsure whether or not this was the right question.

Jensen shrugged his shoulders, "No. Just thought I'd make sure," And then he smiled at Beth. Beth smiled back; it was going to be an interesting day.

...

"Are you sure about this, Colonel?" Pooch was nearly jogging to keep up with Clay's fast pace as the team left the restaurant. Pooch kept his voice low so no one else could hear his question.

"Why wouldn't I be sure?" asked Clay with a smirk, "Jensen and Beth are more than capable of performing the job in question, and I trust them both to do it well." Clay and Pooch came to a stop at the van, when they looked back they noticed the rest of the group barely out of the Diner door.

"But on their own? Don't you think you should send someone else with them to keep an eye on them?"

"Pooch," Clay's voice was stern, yet soft. "Their job is a lot safer than ours. Max will know we'll have plans to check out the docks. I need the rest of you with me. Understood?"

Pooch rolled his eyes, "Yes Colonel."

"Good." Clay patted Pooch on the back, "It's all gonna turn out fine, Soldier."

Jensen and Beth were the next two to join Pooch and Clay. They both looked pretty confident, Clay liked this. Jensen opened the boot of the van and pulled out the case which contained his computer and an empty bagpack. He shoved his laptop, still in it's own bag, into the bagpack and handed it to Beth. Pooch and Clay stared at him with baffled expressions. Jensen noticed.

"What?" he asked, pulling out another bag which was filled with wires and other little gadgets.

"You planning on playing a game of pass the parcel up there?" asked Clay. Pooch sniggered.

"What? … oh you mean the computer?"

Clay nodded.

"I just don't want my baby to get scratched," Jensen smiled. Clay, Beth and Pooch rolled their eyes in unison. Cougar and Aisha, who had just joined the group, shook their heads but neither could hide their slight smile. Beth handed the heavy bag to Jensen, taking the lighter one out of his grip and adding to it her phone and her gun.

"Ready for this, Junior?" teased Jensen. Beth punched him lightly in the gut and Jensen pretended it hurt.

"Whatever," smiled Beth, "Let's go."

"If anything goes wrong…," called Clay as the two set off, Beth turned around but did not stop walking.

"Jensen has the radio!" she answered, relaxing Clay's expression. The rest of the team watched until they were out of sight before climbing into the van and heading to the destination.

...

"Wow," Beth and Jensen stood at the bottom of the tower and stared up.

"Is it just me or did this tower look a little less…_huge_ from the Diner?" Beth said, her wide eyes fixed on the top of the tower.

"Nah it's fine," Jensen reassured her as he tightened the grip on his bagpack, "It just looks taller than it is. We'll be fine,"

Beth followed Jensen as he started climbing the ladder. The higher they got, the heavier the bag on Beth's back felt. Jensen was humming the great escape theme and Beth was trying hard not to look down.

"Jensen!" Beth called up to the hacker who had gained quite the lead up the ladder. Jensen turned and saw how lower down Beth was and paused to let her catch up.

"What's up, Junior?" Jensen called back. Beth rolled her eyes as she caught up and the two carried on climbing.

"First things first, if you don't stop calling me 'Junior' I'm going to yank your leg so hard you will fall and possibly die," Beth didn't really care if she sounded harsh, her arms and legs were aching and she had just discovered a new found fear of heights, "And second, is it much further? I don't think my arms and legs can take much more."

Jensen gave her a look of sympathy. He totally understood where she was coming from. To any other one of the Losers this job would be easy, but Beth had only been with them a little less than a month.

"Not much longer now, we're nearly there," Jensen purposely slowed down to make the last bit of the climb that bit easier on Beth.

...

Pooch parked the van just outside the gate of the docks.

"Cougar, you're on cover. The rest of you are with me," ordered Clay. Cougar nodded and headed for a high perch to keep watch. Clay was wary walking through the docks, although the area was surprisingly quiet the leader still kept one hand on his gun inside his jacket.

"What's the plan, Colonel?" asked Pooch, "This place seems abandoned." The three of them stopped and looked around. Compared to their last visit, the place was abandoned. But Clay refused to be pulled into a false sense of security.

"There may be no one here," began Clay, "but make no mistake, they know we're here. Split up, you guys know what to look for. Shout if you find anything. If not meet back here in twenty. Got it?"

"Got it," Pooch and Aisha replied, and the trio split to see if they could find anything in the deserted port.

...

Jensen reached the top of the ladder and threw his bag onto the ledge before pulling himself up and finally giving Beth a hand up.

"So what now?" Beth asked, sitting down in the only spot she determined safe. She felt a little queasy from the height and the climb, all she wanted to do is get the job done and get down. Jensen opened up the two bags containing his 'baby' and loaded it up.

"How I about I concentrate on this and you concentrate on not throwing up?"

Beth smirked and handed Jensen the bag that she was carrying, "Sounds good to me,"

Jensen opened the bag and pulled out a pair of binoculars and handed them to Beth. He only felt the need to explain the gesture when he saw the 'what the hell' look that Beth gave him.

"I thought you might get bored, thought maybe you could do a little bird watching or something like that," Jensen's smirk made Beth giggle and she thought 'Why the hell not?' She brought the binoculars up to her eyes and took a look around.

"Hey Jensen, you can see the Port of Los Angeles from here. Is that Pooch's van?"

Jensen grabbed the binoculars off Beth and had a look for himself.

"Yeah that's the Pooch-mobile." Jensen answered handing the binoculars back to Beth, "See if you can spot any of the guys while I hack this telephone line. I think I nearly got it."

Beth took the binoculars back and drew her attention back to the docks. She searched the whole of the area that she could see but there was no sign of any of their team. Clay, Aisha and Pooch could have been anywhere, but surely Cougar should have been on high enough ground for Beth to be able to see him? It made her a little anxious.

"How much longer Jensen," Beth asked, "It's a little too deserted down there."

"Well I got the phonecall, all I have to do now is trace the other end of it."

Beth returned her attention to the docks and nearly dropped the binoculars. The sight made her want to scream. Three of the previously all closed containers had now been opened and men in black jumpsuits and helmets, fully armed with AK's were crowding out and surrounding the docks.

"Jensen we have to get down there, the others are in trouble!" shouted Beth. Jensen was just tapping furiously at his computer.

"Jensen did you not hear me? They need us!" Beth was pointing frantically in the direction of the docks.

"Hold on I got the signal," Jensen was talking at double the speed that he normally did, and he normally spoke pretty fast. He tapped at his pockets looking for something but looked disappointed when he only pulled out the radio. "Trade you this for your phone?" Jensen asked, tossing the radio to Beth. She ignored Jensen's request and spoke down the radio immediately.

"Dad! Aisha! Pooch! Cougar!" Beth shouted down the radio, "Can any of you guys hear me? You got trouble! There's guys with guns surrounding the Port, you _have _to get out of there!" Beth looked to Jensen with wide horror-filled eyes when no one responded.

"They'll be okay, Beth," was Jensen's warm reply, "We're trained for this exact situation. Just give me your phone and then we can get out of here."

Beth reached into her pocket, grabbed her phone and handed it to Jensen who was already starting to pack away his supplies. When he got his hands on Beth's phone he immediately attached it to his computer. After a few seconds and a quick 'ping', Jensen quickly unattached the phone, handed it back to Beth and rapidly got to work packing away the rest of his equipment.

"What did you just do?" Beth asked, staring at her phone whilst neatly placing her bag back on her back with her free hand.

"I uploaded the tracking device on to your phone, when it's finished loading it will tell you Max's exact location so keep an eye on it,"

Beth nodded her head and did what she was told. Her eyes remained locked on her phone as the tracking scanner loaded. Jensen carefully shoved his computer back in its bags and stood up. He looked over at Beth just as the young girls face dropped.

"What's wrong," Jensen asked, taking a careful step closer to Beth, "Has it loaded?"

Beth nodded her head. A chopper could be heard in the near distance.

"Where is he?" Jensen sounded a little impatient. Beth looked towards the sound of the chopper, spotted it and then pointed. Jensen turned and looked towards the chopper, nothing was more clear than the machine gun mounted on the side.

"Shit!" shouted Jensen as someone in the helicopter spotted him.

"We gotta go!" ordered Jensen. Beth turned to the ladder but she turned to quickly, lost her balance and slipped.

Jensen's eyes widened in horror. "Beth!"

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**Real apologies for the evil cliffy! I just had nowhere else I could end it.**

**Who knows, maybe if you're lucky and I get loads of nice reviews, I might even upload the next chapter tonight ;)**

**Love love love - Ash x**


	14. What Did He Mean By Mishap?

**Hello my lovely readers :) How are we all today?**

**Just a quick apology really, this chapter would have been up much sooner but I had a nasty bang to the head last night and went to bed with a killer headache. (I did try to write but my brother told me off :P)**

**Anyways hope all is well and hope you enjoy this chapter...**

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"Dad! Aisha! Pooch! Cougar! Can any of you guys hear me? You got trouble! There's guys with guns surrounding the Port, you _have _to get out of there!"

Clay didn't have time to respond to the warning call, nobody did. Clay didn't even have time to wonder how the hell Beth could see where they were and how she knew that they were in trouble. All Clay had time to do was turn around and that's when he saw them. Twenty or more guys coming straight at him, fully masked and fully armed.

Instinctively, Clay pulled out his gun and started shooting. He knocked three or four down immediately but as the numbers of men kept increasing and the bullets started flying in his direction, Clay started to run.

"Clay!" Aisha's voice called. Clay noticed her crouching behind a container not far from Clay's position. The leader took a few more shots, knocking down a few more men before joining Aisha. The pair climbed up the container and crouched down once they reached the top, out of sight of Max's men.

"Any sign of Cougar or Pooch?" Clay asked, his voice low and sounding a little out of breath. Aisha shook her head.

"Not since we split up. They can't be far. Any shots look like they came from Cougar?"

"Possibly, but I can't see him anywhere,"

Aisha smirked, "When can you ever?"

"_Clay! Clay it's Jensen can you hear me_?" The noise came from the radio in Clay's back pocket, he pulled it out and answered back immediately.

"I can hear you, Soldier. What's your status?" Clay asked with an urgent tone.

"_Not so hot, boss. But that's not important. Max is heading straight for you, he's in a helicopter and someone is firing a machine gun out of that motherfucker. You guys need to take cover_!"

"Understood. Thanks for the heads up, Jensen. Now get both of your asses down from that tower!"

"_Roger that. Over and out_!"

Clay shoved the radio back in his pocket and reloaded his weapon before peering over the end of the container.

"We're clear, they've all made a dash for the helipad. Let's take cover."

Clay and Aisha jumped off the container and landed on the ground with ease. The slipped into the open container door, barely succeeding being missed by the helicopter.

"Do you think it saw us?" Aisha asked, peering round to see the helicopter land.

"If it did then we wouldn't be alive right now," replied Clay, matter-of-factly, "Come on, we need to get back to the van for more weapons and ammo."

Aisha nodded and the pair made a dash for their van, silently hoping that Cougar and Pooch would be there waiting for them.

...

Jensen was glad that his arms were as strong as they were. Beth had slipped, missing the grasp of the ladder by inches but grabbing on to one of the other many bars which supported the tower. She was dangling in mid-air, her arms barely strong enough to support her full body weight. Jensen climbed down the ladder until he was at the same height as the young girl before pulling himself across to the bar Beth was hanging on to.

"Hurry up, Jensen!" begged Beth, "I can't hold on much longer!" Beth's voice was strained, her cheeks flushed and her breathing uneasy. Jensen could see that the young girl was panicking. It made him move that little bit faster. Above the bar that Beth was clinging to, were two more bars. One of them around 4ft directly above, and the other cut diagonally through the both of them. Jensen carefully moved so he stood on the lowest bar, using the one above it for support and then starting moving slowly and carefully towards Beth.

"It's okay," Jensen said to himself, "It's all gonna work out fine. Just keep moving and don't look down,"

Beth stared at Jensen with desperate eyes.

"Beth, can you pull yourself up to that slanting bar above your head?" called Jensen. Beth looked up, it would mean using a hell of a lot of upper body strength, strength that she wasn't quite sure she possessed.

"I'll give it my best shot!" she called back. Jensen nodded and continued to move closer. Beth let herself hang for a few seconds longer, taking deep breaths to gather together as much power as she possibly could. Beth took one last deep breath before pulling herself up, letting go with one arm and grabbing on to the higher bar above her head.

"I got it!" she shouted in accomplishment, using the last of her strength to hoist herself up completely. Jensen met her halfway and took her hand, pulling her into a standing position and securing her balance with a protective hand around her waist.

"Good job, kiddo," teased Jensen as they both moved, almost exactly in sync, back towards the ladder.

Halfway down the ladder, the radio went off in Jensen's back pocket.

"_Jensen what the hell is going on over there? Are you both okay?_"

Clay's voice was urgent, anxious, almost worried. It made Beth wonder if her father had seen everything that had just happened. Jensen decided it best to answer the Colonel immediately to save the worry so he and Beth paused on the ladder and Jensen yanked the radio out of his pocket to answer.

"Clay, before I say anything else I just need to tell you how much I miss the earpieces. I'm just saying."

"_Hilarious, Jensen." _was Clay's gruff reply, "_Are you and Beth okay?_"

"We're fine, boss. A little mishap but it's all under control. We're half way down the tower as we speak."

"_Good, I need the two of you to get down to the docks ASAP. Max is here and if we're going to make a move it needs to be now._"

"Roger that boss, we're on our way."

"_Look for the van. We'll be waiting there. Over and out._"

...

Clay shoved the radio back in his pocket. Cougar and Pooch had found him and Aisha and the four of them were waiting anxiously for the arrival of Jensen and Beth. Pooch had opened up the van and was sitting in the drivers seat, restlessly playing with his nodding dog. Cougar was leant casually against the back do or of the van, looking as calm and collected as ever; rifle in one hand, pistol in the other. Aisha wasted no time, loading every weapon she could carry and attaching them so she was ready to go. Clay tried to construct a plan in his head, a plan he could share with his team so they knew this wasn't a 'go in all guns blazing, shoot first ask questions later' mission. He thought of nothing. Aisha loaded her last weapon before turning to Clay.

"What do you suppose Jensen meant by 'mishap'?" she asked casually.

Clay shrugged, "I don't think I even want to ask."

"They're here." Cougar's words alerted the rest of the team of Jensen and Beth's arrival. Clay breathed a sigh of relief, none of them looked hurt. Definitely windswept and worn-out, but not hurt. The pair jogged over to the rest of the team and Beth held out her phone for Clay.

"What's this?" he asked, sounding a little more than baffled as he took Beth's phone.

"It's your Max-tracker," boasted Jensen, looking ever so proud of himself.

Clay's eyes narrowed, "Max-tracker?" Everyone crowded around Clay to admire Jensen's new 'toy'.

"I uploaded the phone signal from last night on to Beth's phone," explained Jensen, "That, my dear Losers, is our Max's exact location." A smile grew on everybody's face.

"So Max will _not _be hiding from us today," smirked Clay.

"No sir, he will not." confirmed Jensen.

"Alright Losers!" called Clay, gathering the team in a circle, "Choose your weapon. We have work to do!"

...

Unbeknownst to Clay, his enemy was watching his every move. Max's pistol was armed and ready to go, as were his new team. His second in command stood to his left; butterfly knife in one hand, Snook detonator in the other. The man turned to Max for orders.

"Gather our friends, my brother," Max said softly, turning slowly to face the man on his left, "It's time we got this party started."

* * *

**:O Exciting stuff! What did you all think? R&R? :)**

**Oh & I've been thinking about doing a couple of Losers oneshots, anyone have any requests or ideas? PM or leave ideas in a review :) Cheers my lovelies.**

**Love to you all and have a fantastic day. Ash xx**


	15. Role Credits

**Well, here it is as promised - A super long story Finale :)**

**Hope you all enjoy and please read the end comments, thank you all for being such amazing readers and reviewers.**

**This chapter is for all of you...**

* * *

Clay wasn't too sure what was freaking him out the most. The fact that his daughter was about to march into battle with them, or the fact that she actually looked prepared?

Clay was ready, he'd been ready from the start.

Aisha was pretty much ready, she was using the time they had to make sure she was carrying as many weapons as humanly possible, which was enough for the entire team. She pulled her hair off her face and tied it back, tucking the few stray hairs behind her ears.

Jensen was playing with his Max-tracker. The techie was leant against the van. Clay eyed him up and down to estimate how many weapons the younger man was carrying. Jensen was always more concerned with gadgets then guns but that didn't mean that Clay was about to let him go in empty handed. The colonel counted two pistols shoved in a carrier under each arm and a rifle leant beside him against the van. That should be plenty.

Cougar was loading his famous sniper rifle and shoving extra ammo in any pocket he had spare. There was no point Cougar carrying any other weapon because he wouldn't use it.

Beth watched them all, silently. Although she'd never show it, the young girl was terrified. She leant against the hood of the van, staring at her pistol which sat in her outstretched hands. Did they expect her to actually _kill _people? She shoved the gun back in the waistband of her denim shorts and extended her arms in front of her to crack her knuckles. When she leant back to stretch she looked up at the sky, not a cloud in sight. The day seemed so perfect, would she live to see the end of it? She shook her head to empty it of the negative thoughts. No 'what if's' were going to help, if anything they would make things worse. She silently wondered if any of the others were as worried as she was, looking through them one by one she saw no signs of anything but confidence. It made her a little nervous, should she be feeling this positive?

Clay walked over and leant on the van next to Beth "Everything okay, little lady?"

Beth shrugged her shoulders. She wanted so bad to tell her father the truth but she knew that it would probably knock his focus if he knew his daughter was afraid, so she smiled and answered, "Yeah I guess."

"You don't have to stick around, you know?" reassured Clay, making sure his daughter knew that it was okay if she wanted to leave, "If you walk away then I'll just pick you up when all of this is over."

Beth shook her head, "No way."

Clay chuckled and shook his head. "I was worried you'd say that." The Colonel pulled out a weapon and handed it to his daughter.

"A taser?" Beth laughed in disbelief, "Really?"

Clay nodded his head. "You're not gonna need big guns where you'll be."

Beth rolled her eyes. "And that'll be where?"

"Right here. You, my dear daughter, are our getaway driver."

Beth laughed and looked to Pooch who simply nodded. Pooch may have been the usual driver, but even he was willing to give his job to Beth in order to keep her out of immediate danger.

"So what's the plan?" Beth asked, causing everyone else to look up and gather round.

Clay cleared his throat before talking. "As you're all aware, Max managed to get his hands on the Snook detonator. If we don't get that detonator back then who knows what he will do with it."

There were many nods and exchanged worried glances within the group. Although no one would speak it out loud, everyone knew what Max's plans for the detonator were, and it made them feel sick.

"Cougar," the Colonel motioned to the sniper, "Will be running point cover from the highest point here, the top of _that _crane." Clay pointed up to the t-shaped piece of machinery that looked as if it hadn't been used in months. "Think you can handle that, Soldier?"

Cougar simply tipped his hat to the Colonel. That was a definite yes.

"For the rest of us our job is simple," continued Clay, "Find Max and get that detonator back whatever it takes."

"And this time we actually kill him." Aisha stepped forward. She knew what she wanted and she was going to stop at nothing to get it. She wanted Max dead from the start, and this time he wasn't going to get away so easily.

Clay nodded. He would have preferred it if Aisha sugar-coated it in front of Beth, but looking at his daughter, she looked as if she expected nothing less.

"Beth," Clay turned to his daughter, "When I give the word you get this car started and ready. You'll need to drive fast. Can you handle that?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Of course I can."

"Alright then Losers, let's roll." All guns were drawn and ahead as Clay, Pooch, Aisha, Jensen and Cougar headed to the battle scene. Beth stood and stared until they were out of sight before sliding on to the hood of the car to begin her wait, not realising how much trouble was coming their way.

…...

Max had sent his men the second he saw Clay and his team move. He sat and watched as his men ran, smiling to himself as he thought of the confrontation ahead of him. He knew the Losers were good, he'd never admit it but if he were honest he'd almost say great.

"Do you still have my detonator?" Max turned to his second in command. The man nodded his head, outstretching his gloved right hand to show Max the sealed detonator that sat in his palm.

"Good," smiled Max, "There's an orange container near the exit of this shithole, inside there's the very Snook that goes with this detonator. Wait for me there. I'll try not to be long."

The man nodded his head in acknowledgment and turned to leave but didn't make it two steps before Max's right hand caught his shoulder.

"I can't stress these points enough, Brother," Max said with a sadistic smile. "Don't touch _anything, _and kill _anyone _who tries to follow you. Understood?"

Another nod and the man left. Max took a deep breath whilst gently tugging a tight leather glove on to his left hand, and after his second deep breath he grabbed his pistol from the table behind him and followed out after the rest of his team.

…...

Jensen stood with his back pressed against a container. He could hear movement the opposite side, getting closer by the second. Aisha stood to his right. Jensen motioned to his left with his index finger, Aisha did the same but to her right. They both slid to the opposite end of the container and peered round either corner. There were ten or so men searching the area. Jensen knew they needed to act fast, if they got too close then ten on two would be too much even for the Losers. Jensen looked to Aisha and Aisha nodded. She took a slight step around the container, just enough to be able to take a clear shot and not allow anyone a clear shot at her.

Four shots and four men went down. She crouched back behind the container as the men saw her and started firing in her direction. Aisha retreated to the centre of the container.

Now it was Jensen's turn. The techie took a deep breath before peering round his side of the container. The six remaining guards were fixed on Aisha's side of the container so Jensen had no trouble taking a step round and taking out the final six before they even had chance to turn and see where the second lot of shots were coming from. Jensen smirked to himself and bowed to Aisha. Aisha rolled her eyes as she reloaded her weapon.

"Is it just me or did that seem a little to easy?" Aisha asked, looking around every few seconds to make sure there were no more guards around.

Jensen shrugged. "Maybe we're just awesome?" the younger man suggested, deciding it was probably in his best interests to reload his weapon as well.

"Cougs?" Jensen called down the radio, "You see any trouble from up there?"

…...

Cougar had climbed up the crane with ease. Finding a suitable perch was a little more difficult but Cougar, being Cougar, found the perfect spot and proceeded to setting up his rifle.

When Cougar was all set up, he found the team in no time. Clay and Pooch went one way, Jensen and Aisha the other. The sniper decided to keep and eye on Clay; with Jensen in the company of the only person in the world immune to his boy-ish charm and therefore he was under control and safe, Cougar figured the second most likely person to get himself in trouble would be the Colonel. Cougar watched silently as Clay and Pooch walked almost back to back, shooting down any guards that came in their direction. Cougar noticed that every few seconds, Clay would glance down at the 'Max-tracker' and nod in Pooch's direction. They were getting closer.

"_Cougs? You see any trouble from up there?"_ Jensen's voice over the radio made Cougar smile, at least the younger man hadn't annoyed Aisha to the point where she had shot him. _Again._

"Nothing, amigo." Cougar replied simply, shifting his rifle focus to where Clay was heading, making sure there were no nasty surprises waiting for the Colonel. When he was satisfied, Cougar turned slightly towards the van to make sure Beth was okay; and then he froze. Beth wasn't there. He scanned the entire area twice, and then three times but nothing. The youngest member of their team was nowhere in sight. Cougar knew he had to call it in.

"Colonel," he called down the radio, "We have a problem."

…...

Beth knew she shouldn't be doing what she was doing, but she already had her 'in my defence' speech planned.

She had been waiting by the car, as asked, sitting on the hood playing catch with a roll of duct tape that she'd found on the back seat and whistling the tune to power rangers when she'd spotted him. The man was average height, mid thirties with short, messy black hair. Beth had watched him every step since he came in to view, he hadn't noticed her. Every step he took meant another look over his shoulder, he was making sure he wasn't been followed. Beth looked him up and down twice before she noticed it, clutched in his right hand; the Snook detonator.

The guy jogged the last few steps towards an orange container and slipped inside. Beth grabbed her radio immediately.

"Guys I think I saw a guy with the detonator." Beth called down the radio as she started pacing, holding the radio close to her ear. Every second got more painful when no one answered. Where were they? Had something happened. Beth grabbed her pistol from the vans glove compartment and shoved it in her waistband before giving the radio another try.

"Is anyone there? Come on guys I think I found the detonator. If no one answers then I'm going after it myself."

Still no answer. The radio was silent, and the Losers had _never _been silent. It made the young girl edgy. Beth didn't know what to do, she wasn't ready for something like this but what choice did she have? If she didn't act fast then it could be too late. She angrily tossed the radio back in the van and then started pacing. All she had was a taser, a pistol and her 'Jensen taught Ninja abilities' as the tech had so ingeniously put it. That was going to have to be enough.

Beth took one last look around to make sure she wasn't being watched before tiptoeing over to the container, taser at arms length. She pressed her ear up against the container to see if she could hear any noises coming from inside. Nothing. Good. That meant he was probably alone. She heard gunfire in the far distance. She was curious of who it was coming from, but the curiosity soon faded when she remembered the job in hand. She quietly made her way round to the container entrance and took a silent step inside.

It was dark, if the door wasn't slightly ajar then the container would be pitch black. Beth could make out boxes, lots of boxes. They were stacked high and scattered. It were almost as if they were there to create a maze. Beth shook her head, either this was a big coincidence or whoever stacked these boxes was on a fucked up mission.

She crept around a few of the boxes, her taser at arms length in front of her. There was no sign of anyone or anything, she was starting to doubt if this container even had an end. Now _that _would be fucked up. She paused, listening for movement. She turned to face the exit, only then realising how dark it had gotten. A shuffle of a footstep behind her, Beth turned and lashed out blindly, her taser knocked out of her grip by an outstretched arm.

"Son of a bitch!" muttered Beth as she realised she now stood face to face with the man who had possession of the detonator. All of a sudden her training counted for nothing and Beth found herself completely mind-blanked.

He swung the first punch. Beth turned her body away and felt his knuckles swish past her nose. And then they kept on coming.

He punched. She ducked. He kicked. She twisted.

Beth knew this luck could only last so long, so when his knee came into contact with her stomach, the air was knocked right out of her and she fell back into a pile of boxes which collapsed around her as she fell to the floor in pain. .

_Your gun, your gun! Reach for your god damn gun! _Beth's thoughts were not communicating with her actions. The young girl did not move as her attacker bent down to deliver a second excruciating strike, a sharp punch across the jaw left Beth's mouth pouring with blood and the young girl almost in tears.

"If I'd known this was going to be so easy, I'd have just shot you by your van," mocked the older man, stretching out his right hand to reveal the detonator to Beth. The detonator looked as though it had seen better days, it was tightly wrapped with duct tape. Beth smirked to herself, definitely her fathers handiwork.

"Is this what you're after?" he laughed, waving the detonator in Beth's face before throwing it in the air and catching it with his opposite hand.

Beth did not look the man in the eye. She spat out some of the blood from her mouth and tried to think of a plan. This guy was too cocky, surely he had to have a weakness?

"I tell you what, I'll make you a deal," the cocky bastard smirked, crouching down and getting right up in Beth's personal space, "Somewhere in this big, bad container is the nasty Snook that goes with this detonator. If you can get up and find it, and then beat me in a fight to the death, this big bad detonator will be all yours. Sound fair, princess?" The man let out a chuckle as he stood and turned to walk away.

Beth snarled. This jackass reminded her too much of Charlie, and the fact that'd he'd beat her to shit the same way her step-father used to, made her angry. She was sick of being the poor, defenceless little girl. She knew it was time she stood up for herself; it was time she took a stand.

Beth reached behind and grabbed her gun out of her waistband, pointing it at her attacker and firing without a second thought. The bullet shot forward and sliced through his shoulder, knocking him to the floor as he let out an agonising scream. The Snook detonator dropped from his grasp.

Beth ignored the pain as she hauled herself to her feet, her adrenaline kicking in as she saw him reach for the detonator. She broke into a run and managed to kick the detonator further down the container and out of his grasp. He grabbed her leg and pulled it from beneath her, sending her flat on her back, her head smacking against the hard floor. One more hit like that and she'd be sporting one hell of a concussion. She needed to get her head in the game.

"Oh, so now we're getting brave are we?" came his mocking voice, "Okay, let's see what you got."

Beth stood up, finally remembering Jensen's self-defence class.

_Ok Slugger, make sure you stand with you feet shoulder-width apart, it's the key to good balance. Keep your arms in front of you, and your clenched fists covering your nose as protection._

Beth's opponent took a swing at her face with his left arm. Beth had her balance and she knew what to do. She brought forward her right arm, blocking the punch beautifully.

_Now, the trick to the perfect hit is balance. Bend your knees a little, not too much, around 45 degrees. Make a fist with both hands with your thumb across them and point them so they're facing upwards and stand so your elbow is pointing straight out behind you. Now the rest is easy - strike forward, bringing the power straight from the tip of your toes to the tip of your fingers. You get that right then I bet you could even knock out the Incredible Hulk._

The hit had him on the ground, clutching a possible broken nose. Beth quickly stepped over him and felt around for the detonator, smiling slightly when the tips of her fingers brushed against the worn duct tape.

"Gotcha," she smiled, picking it up and running before her opponent had the chance to recover.

…...

Clay had an odd sense of déjà vu. Max's guards were all down, and the Colonel had a gun the evil masterminds head. Max simply stood with his arms in the air. Clay didn't know how to feel when he saw no sign of the detonator.

"You know Colonel, I feel like we've been here before." Max said calmly, showing no signs of fear given his current situation.

"Then you know how it ends," growled Clay, "I will get that detonator back so why don't you save us all the trouble and tell me where it is?"

Max shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have it."

Clay glanced over at Pooch who was behind him to his right. Pooch shrugged his shoulders. Sound of running behind them caused Pooch to turn with his weapon. Aisha just rolled her eyes but Jensen froze on the spot and raised his hands in surrender.

"Easy Pooch," smirked Jensen, pointing at himself, "Friend…" and then at Max, "…Enemy."

Pooch rolled his eyes and turned his gun back on Max, mumbling something along the lines of "Hilarious, Jensen."

"_Colonel,"_ Cougar's worried voice came over the radio, _"We have a problem."_

"What is it, Cougar?" asked Clay, not taking his eyes off Max. Max's smile was growing, he knew something must have gone wrong.

"_It's Beth," _was Cougar's quick reply, _"I can't see her anywhere."_

Clay's face dropped. "Jensen, go!" the Colonel ordered, "Aisha, Pooch. Tie and gag him."

"Kinky," were Max's last words before Clay whacked him round the head with his gun, knocking him out cold.

…...

Jensen ran, and Jensen could run fucking _fast _when he wanted to. It wasn't a long way to the van, but with Jensen's emotions working overtime, it seemed like forever. The twenty or so other guards that Jensen had fought seemed easy compared to this rush. The pain from the bullet wound in his left shoulder felt painless alongside the thought that something could have happened to Beth. But whatever Jensen was feeling, was nothing compared to Clay.

The Colonel followed Jensen as soon as he was positive that Aisha and Pooch had the Max situation under control. They had practically picked him up and started their way back to the van as soon as Clay started running. But that wasn't important, Clay was terrified. He needed to know Beth was okay. He just wanted to pull her into his arms and never let go. A brawl with Max's security guard had left Clay with a split lip and gouge above his right eye, they were both bleeding but he could ignore that. The Colonel started calling out his daughters name before he even got back to the van.

Cougar beat them all back. He'd made his way down the crane immediately after sending the word. He searched the van for any clue to the young girls whereabouts. All he found was her radio, he called Clay's name down it; nothing. It was not long before he was joined by Jensen and Clay. Cougar tossed the radio which was caught by the Colonel.

"Her radio wasn't working," Cougar figured, dropping his rifle next to the van.

"Shit!" was all Clay could say. He angrily tossed the radio which bounced off a nearby container.

"Beth!" called Jensen. The tech was not standing still for even a split second, but he definitely didn't know where to start looking.

"Beth!" Clay and Cougar called out in unison, looking around for any sign of the young girl.

"Did you guys hear that?" asked Aisha as she and Pooch dragged Max's unconscious body to the van.

Everyone was silent; and then they heard it.

It started with a bang, then muffled cries of 'Open the door!' The noises were coming from an orange container, less then twenty feet from where the Losers were standing.

"Cougar, Jensen - with me!" ordered the Colonel. The three men ran to the container. The container was closed, Clay used every ounce of his energy to open the door.

"Beth?" he called out, "You in here, Little Lady?"

There were sounds of a struggle, followed by a quiet 'Oomph," Clay saw where the movement was coming from and leapt over the fallen boxes, catching his daughter before she fell again. A look of relief was obvious on the faces of Cougar and Jensen.

"Dad, is that you?" Beth's voice was weak, it made Jensen wince. She sounded like she did when he'd first met here. Clay held Beth in his arms, gently running his hand down her face.

"It's me, Beth. I'm here. Can you stand? Where hurts, baby?"

Beth bought a finger up to Clay's lips.

"Daddy, look." the young girl smiled, fumbling around in her pocket and pulling out the thing they had been looking for from the start. The Snook detonator. Beth had never seen such a smile on her fathers face. Clay pulled Beth into a tight hug.

"That's my girl!" he beamed.

Beth coughed, "Still in pain, Dad!"

Clay loosened his grip before pulling himself and his daughter to their feet. Cougar and Jensen moved some of the boxes to tidy Clay and Beth a clear walkway.

"You use the punch?" Jensen asked, offering Beth support on the opposite side to Clay as they slowly stumbled back to the van.

"Hell yeah I used the punch!" smiled Beth.

"He's not going anywhere anytime soon. Congratulations Losers, your names will be cleared in no time" Aisha announced as the four of them approached, she looked to Beth, "You okay, Kiddo?"

"Yeah I'll live," Beth tugged herself free of her father and Jensen's grip to wipe away the blood that was dripping down the side of her jaw. "You okay, Cougs?"

The sniper had not said a word since seeing the state of Beth when she stepped out in the light. He offered the young girl a nod, but in reality he would not be okay until he got her back to their hotel and patched up. Beth looked towards the van and got her first proper look at Max, her eyes widened in shock. Clay was at her side in an instant.

"Beth what's wrong?" he asked, all eyes were on the Colonel's daughter.

She pointed at Max. "That's him. That's the guy who attacked me, only he's changed clothes and has a slightly different haircut and his glove on a different hand," The more Beth spoke, the slower she spoke.

"It can't have been Max, Beth," Clay explained softly, "He was the other side of the docks this whole time,"

Beth shook her head, "No, it wasn't him. It was someone who looked _exactly_ like him!"

"What, you mean like a twin?" asked Jensen, slanting down against the van next to Pooch. Beth nodded.

"Yes! Is there any chance our evil mastermind could have a twin?" Beth's question was directed at everyone.

"Well…"

"I don't…"

"How could…"

Aisha looked to Clay, Clay looked to Pooch, Pooch looked to Cougar and Cougar looked to Jensen.

A simultaneous though crossed all of their minds.

_Shit._

_

* * *

_

**Dum Dum Dummmm :) Well there you have it.**

**First things first, how was it for you all? Enjoy/hate? I did it from lots of different perspectives so you had a good idea what was going on with everyone ... did that work out okay?**

**What happens next? Well that is up to you my dear readers! :) I'm more than happy to leave this story here and leave it up to your imaginations to decide what happens next ... or do you want more?**

**If I get enough requests, I will write more adventures with Beth. If not, well I have plenty of ideas for oneshots with our original Losers. Leave your requests in a review or drop me a PM with your thoughts.**

**Until then, this is AshALeah signing off, Love love love x x x**


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